# Lake McRee
**Lake McRee** (born c. 2002) is an [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) tight end for the [Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh-steelers) of the [National Football League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-football-league), signed as an undrafted free agent in 2026 after a five-season college career at the University of Southern California (USC) from 2021 to 2025.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) At USC he played 51 games and caught 97 passes for 1,154 yards and seven touchdowns, and he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team as a senior.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position, size | Tight end; 6 ft 4 in, listed at 250 lb by USC and the Steelers, 243 lb at NFL combine measurements[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) • [2](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/) |
| College career | USC, 2021–2025: 51 games, 97 receptions, 1,154 yards, 7 touchdowns[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) • [3](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/lake-mcree-1.html) |
| Best season | 2025: 30 catches for 450 yards (15.0 avg) and 4 TDs in 12 games; All-Big Ten Second Team[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) |
| Injuries | Two ACL tears, one to each knee: left in high school, right a few days before the 2023 Holiday Bowl[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action) |
| 2025 PFF grades | 69.0 overall (48th of 199 qualified tight ends), 72.0 receiving (47th); 14.8 yards per reception ranked 9th[5](https://www.pff.com/ncaa/players/Lake%20McRee/146418) |
| Draft projection | Mid-Day 3 (PFF), rounds 5–7 (Sporting News), late Day 3 (Steelers Depot); went undrafted and signed with Pittsburgh[6](https://www.pff.com/news/draft-pff-2026-nfl-draft-guide-lake-mcree-usc) • [7](https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/ncaa-football/news/2026-nfl-scouting-combine-rankings-tight-ends/bf96ad11b753510a0a2de3fe) • [2](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/) |
| Pro status | Pittsburgh Steelers No. 81; has yet to make an NFL debut[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) |
## Early life and high school
McRee grew up in [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas), and attended Lake Travis High School, a program known for producing Division I quarterbacks.[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action) He was trained as a quarterback, but his coaches steered him toward other positions to use his size, and he settled on tight end after a one-day experiment at defensive end.[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action) As a sophomore in 2018 he caught 17 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, and he also completed a 22-yard pass.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) He missed his 2019 junior season with a knee injury, then as a senior in 2020 caught 14 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown and was named 2020 PrepStar All-Midlands.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/)
The knee injury was the first of two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears: he tore the ACL in his left knee during his sophomore year of high school.[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action)
## College career at USC
McRee enrolled at USC in the spring of 2021 after graduating a semester early from high school.[8](https://usctrojans.com/sports/football/roster/lake-mcree/17714) He redshirted his freshman year while still recovering from the high school ACL tear, then appeared in four late-season games in 2021, starting once against UCLA, and saw time at tight end and on special teams.[9](https://staging-www.fbg-dev.com/article/lake-mcree-scouting-report-te-usc) • [8](https://usctrojans.com/sports/football/roster/lake-mcree/17714)
**Breakout and second injury.** McRee's production grew in 2023, more than doubling his per-game receiving output, but a second ACL tear, this time to his right knee, ended his season a few days before the 2023 Holiday Bowl.[9](https://staging-www.fbg-dev.com/article/lake-mcree-scouting-report-te-usc) • [4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action) The 2023 season line recorded in USC's game notes shows 12 games with one reception for one yard and a touchdown.[10](https://usctrojans.com/documents/download/2025/10/14/usc-trojans-football-game-notes-notre-dame-fighting-irish-2025.pdf) He rehabilitated alongside teammate Zion Branch, a safety who tore his ACL in the same 2023 season, and returned healthy for 2024.[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action)
**Junior and senior seasons.** In 2024, as a redshirt junior, McRee played 10 games with 9 starts and caught 24 passes for 245 yards (10.2 avg), earning All-Big Ten honorable mention; his best games included 5 receptions for 56 yards against Louisiana State and 4 catches for 81 yards against Utah State.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) • [8](https://usctrojans.com/sports/football/roster/lake-mcree/17714) He was the most experienced member of USC's tight end group that season.[11](https://uclabruins.com/documents/download/2024/11/23/FB-24-USC-Notes-Week-11.pdf) As a redshirt senior in 2025 he set career highs with 30 receptions for 450 yards (15.0 avg) and four touchdowns in 12 games and was named All-Big Ten Second Team.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) • [12](https://www.si.com/college/usc/football/lake-mcree-opens-up-nfl-combine-decision-stay-usc-trojans-lincoln-riley-tight-end) He and fellow tight end Carson Tabaracci both scored touchdowns in USC's game against Missouri State that year.[13](https://usctrojans.com/documents/download/2025/11/25/usc-trojans-football-game-notes-ucla-bruins-2025.pdf)
McRee spent all five seasons at one school, a rarity in the transfer-portal and NIL era, and said the NIL money available elsewhere did not outweigh staying at USC.[12](https://www.si.com/college/usc/football/lake-mcree-opens-up-nfl-combine-decision-stay-usc-trojans-lincoln-riley-tight-end) He earned his bachelor's degree in [Communication](https://www.edgepedia.org/communication) in the fall of 2024 and was selected to the 2026 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, which recognizes scholar-athletes.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/)
## Scouting profile
Evaluators describe McRee as a receiving tight end rather than an in-line blocker. [Pro Football Focus](https://www.edgepedia.org/pro-football-focus)'s 2026 draft guide called him a solid overall athlete for an "F" tight end, a designation for a move-tight-end role, and projected his best fit as a big-slot option in the mid-Day 3 range.[6](https://www.pff.com/news/draft-pff-2026-nfl-draft-guide-lake-mcree-usc) His 2025 advanced numbers bore out the receiving profile: 30 receptions on 48 targets for 445 yards and 4 touchdowns, 14.8 yards per reception (ninth among 199 qualified tight ends), 185 yards after the catch, only 2 drops, and an average depth of target of 8.5 yards.[5](https://www.pff.com/ncaa/players/Lake%20McRee/146418)
**Strengths and concerns.** Scouting reports credit his reliable hands, route leverage at the intermediate level, willingness to work over the middle, and pass-protection numbers that rarely include a charged pressure.[14](https://nfldraftbuzz.com/player/Lake-McRee-TE-USC) The recurring concerns are his lighter frame for the position, run blocking that lacks power, ball security flagged in both 2024 and 2025, and the two-tear ACL history, which draft analysts treated as the largest flag on his file.[14](https://nfldraftbuzz.com/player/Lake-McRee-TE-USC) • [2](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/) At the 2026 scouting combine measurements he stood 6 ft 4 in and 243 lb with 31.5-inch arms and 9.25-inch hands; he did not participate in timed drills but recorded 22 bench-press repetitions.[2](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/) Projection ranges varied modestly: Sporting News listed him at rounds 5–7, Steelers Depot at late Day 3 with a ceiling of a TE2 in the right scheme, and [Todd McShay](https://www.edgepedia.org/todd-mcshay)'s Ringer profile graded him 47 of 100 with a positional rank of 13.[7](https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/ncaa-football/news/2026-nfl-scouting-combine-rankings-tight-ends/bf96ad11b753510a0a2de3fe) • [2](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/) • [15](https://theringer.com/todd-mcshay/2026/players/lake-mcree)
## Professional career
McRee went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent, wearing number 81.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) As of the team's published biography he has yet to make an NFL debut.[1](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/) His younger brother, Heath McRee, is a wide receiver at San Diego State.[4](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action)
## References
1. [Lake McRee player biography, Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.steelers.com/team/players-roster/lake-mcree/splits/)
2. [2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: USC TE Lake McRee, Steelers Depot](https://steelersdepot.com/2026/03/2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report-usc-te-lake-mcree/)
3. [Lake McRee College Stats, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/lake-mcree-1.html)
4. [Back in Action, USC Athletics (September 1, 2024)](https://usctrojans.com/news/2025/10/2/football-back-in-action)
5. [Lake McRee NCAA and PFF stats, Pro Football Focus](https://www.pff.com/ncaa/players/Lake%20McRee/146418)
6. [PFF 2026 NFL Draft Guide: Lake McRee NFL projection, advanced stats & scouting report](https://www.pff.com/news/draft-pff-2026-nfl-draft-guide-lake-mcree-usc)
7. [2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Tight ends, Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/ncaa-football/news/2026-nfl-scouting-combine-rankings-tight-ends/bf96ad11b753510a0a2de3fe)
8. [Lake McRee, 2025 USC Football Roster, USC Athletics](https://usctrojans.com/sports/football/roster/lake-mcree/17714)
9. [Lake McRee Scouting Report, Footballguys](https://staging-www.fbg-dev.com/article/lake-mcree-scouting-report-te-usc)
10. [USC Trojans Football Game Notes: Notre Dame (2025), Individual Career Summaries](https://usctrojans.com/documents/download/2025/10/14/usc-trojans-football-game-notes-notre-dame-fighting-irish-2025.pdf)
11. [USC game notes, Week 11 (2024), UCLA Athletics](https://uclabruins.com/documents/download/2024/11/23/FB-24-USC-Notes-Week-11.pdf)
12. [Lake McRee Opens Up About Decision to Stay With USC Trojans, Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/college/usc/football/lake-mcree-opens-up-nfl-combine-decision-stay-usc-trojans-lincoln-riley-tight-end)
13. [USC Trojans Football Game Notes: UCLA (2025)](https://usctrojans.com/documents/download/2025/11/25/usc-trojans-football-game-notes-ucla-bruins-2025.pdf)
14. [Lake McRee NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report, NFL Draft Buzz](https://nfldraftbuzz.com/player/Lake-McRee-TE-USC)
15. [Lake McRee Draft Profile & Scouting Report, The Ringer](https://theringer.com/todd-mcshay/2026/players/lake-mcree)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Tight ends › Current NFL tight ends*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license