LSU has their own tight end who is the son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver. The Miami Hurricanes have Michael Irvin II, son of Canes great Michael Irvin Sr. The Tigers Thaddeus Moss is the son of Randy Moss.
Like Irvin, Moss has not produced anywhere close to the level of his father thus far in his collegiate career. Irvin’s stats in two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes are barely better than Moss’ one with the Wolfpack.
Moss is a redshirt Sophomore. He transferred to LSU from NC State following the 2016 season. He sat out during the 2017 season per NCAA rules after the move from Raleigh.
Moss had six receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown during his one season at North Carolina State in 2016. His one score is one more than Irvin has had thus far in his collegiate career. Entering his Junior season Irvin has nine career receptions for 78 yards.
Their fathers were both legendary players who often transcended the sport. Michael Irvin Sr. had the Miami Hurricanes Freshmen receiving yardage record that stood from 1985 until Ahmmon Richards broke it in 2016.
Irvin was one of the players that created the swagger that Miami began in the mid-1980s when Jimmy Johnson took over for Howard Schnellenberger in 1984.
Randy Moss played two seasons of college football at Marshall. One at the then Division I-AA level (FCS) and one at the I-A level (FBS).
In 1997 Moss caught 96 passes for 1,820 and 26 touchdowns. Michael Irvin II and the two offspring have 27 combined in college (with 26 going to Michael I and one to Thaddeus).
Both younger players were three-star recruits coming out of high school. Thaddeus was the slightly higher regarded recruit.
Moss was given a score of .8804 coming out of Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte. Moss was the 401st ranked recruit in the Class of 2016, the 17th ranked tight end and the 15th ranked recruit in North Carolina per the 247Sports Composite.
Irvin had a score of .8599, was the 627th ranked recruit overall, the 33rd ranked tight end and the 90th ranked player in Florida from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale.
Moss seems to be a versatile player. NOLA.Com, the website for the New Orleans Times-Picayune projects Moss to get playing time at fullback, tight end and H-back. He is expected to be the primary back at all three positions.
Irvin ended the 2017 season as the starting tight end. He became the starter after Christopher Herndon IV was lost for the season with a torn MCL. In two games, Irvin recorded four receptions for 22 yards. His had a career-best three catches for 18 yards in the ACC Championship game loss to Clemson.
Irvin is expected to be a backup this season. Miami has the nation’s number one tight end in the Class of 2018, Brevin Jordan. Will Mallory is also a top ten tight end in this year’s recruiting class. Irvin is going to have to improve dramatically to get significant playing time this fall.
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Michael Irvin was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Randy Moss will be inducted in August.