2021 Tight End Michael Trigg Pursuing Both Football and Basketball in College, Talks Interest in LSU
Michael Trigg has a tough decision ahead of him. Not only will the 2021 tight end have to decide which college program fits him best on the football field, he'll have to decide which basketball program fits best.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Tampa, Florida native is being chased by many top notch programs not just for his talents on the football field, but on the court as well. LSU is one of the few universities that have made the Carrollwood Day High School product offers for both sports and Trigg has received the go-ahead to pursue both if he were to choose the Tigers one day.
The football offer came down just days before LSU was scheduled to take on Alabama last year, a game that resulted in a 46-41 victory for the visiting Tigers.
"I probably had about nine offers at the time and somebody told me to call LSU, they want to speak with you," Trigg said. "I couldn't believe it when they offered me. It was hard to sleep that night. They like how athletic I am. They like that for the tight end position, how big and fast I am and think I can create mismatches on cornerbacks and linebackers."
Basketball came together just a few days ago, but now that LSU is one of just a handful of programs to offer Trigg the opportunity to play both sports, he admits that he'll have to do some rethinking in terms of where he ultimately winds up.
As of now, LSU, South Carolina, Kentucky and USC are the only schools to extend Trigg an offer to play both sports. Because offers for basketball are continuing to roll in for Trigg, he wants to wait until all of those opportunities present themselves before whittling down a list and ultimately committing.
Trigg is currently the No. 5 ranked tight end in the 2021 class according to 247Sports Composite Rankings and a three-star guard on Rivals.com.
"There were some schools I was talking to but I'm trying to revise my list because I just started getting basketball offers," Trigg said. "Being able to play both sports is definitely going to change my mind about some stuff."
In his conversation with LSU basketball coach Will Wade a few days ago, Trigg said Wade thinks he has the versatility to play 1-4 on the floor.
"I'm kind of more like a combo guard and he liked how athletic I was and how I was able to get up and down the floor at my size," Trigg said. "I'm big and I can move and I feel like that's a strength for me in basketball. I can dribble and I think being a big, physical guard helps me on defense and gives me an advantage on offense."
As it pertains to his football skill set, Trigg immediately pointed to his catching radius and route running as the strengths of his game. With Trigg preparing for two sports to play this fall, his training is rigorous and takes a full day to complete.
He'll wake up at 7 a.m. and lift weights, he'll work out with his trainer on the field perfecting his football skills in the early afternoon, head to basketball practice from 4-6 p.m. and then from 6-8 p.m. he has football practice. There are notable differences between training for football and training for basketball but Trigg said the conditioning he gets from basketball ultimately helps him on the football field.
"I've always had good hands but I've been working a lot on my speed this offseason and I also want to get stronger," Trigg said. "Training for basketball helps with your wind because you're running up and down the court without stopping. So they really complement each other."
There does become a problem with playing both football and basketball as one sport runs from August through December while the other runs from November-March. The two-month overlap would force Trigg to miss significant preseason learning and critical non-conference matchups in basketball while he's finishing up football.
"We've talked about it a little bit," Trigg said. "Some basketball coaches say right after football season you can come into basketball season but I think it's more difficult than that. I haven't spoken to anyone in depth about it yet."
There are qualities Trigg enjoys about the possibility of playing for both programs if he were to one day choose LSU.
"I like how they're a run and gun and they have a lot of great athletes on their team like Darius Days, Emmitt Williams," Trigg said about basketball. "I think I fit the scale for a two or three guard like Antonio Blakeney but I love their style of play.
"When I'm watching LSU football, my eyes always gravitate towards Ja'Marr Chase. "I just like the way he plays and always finds a way to get open. When Chase comes off the line, he'll get his hands on the DB and then he'll snatch them to get by them quicker so it's just him and the safety up top. That's really how my high school film is, there's always somebody underneath me and always somebody over top. I look at others and see how they handle those situations."
