Bulldogs land former Arkansas State, Colorado tight end Seydou Traore

Mississippi State beefed up its tight end room on Saturday with the addition of former Arkansas State standout Seydou Traore.

Traore, a 6’4”, 210-pound pass catcher from London, England, did not begin playing 11-man football until his senior year of high school. Traore was teammates with Mississippi State offensive lineman Albert Reese IV in his lone season at Clearwater (Fla.) International Academy and earned an offer from Arkansas State.

Traore spent two seasons with the Red Wolves, and after putting up 97 yards as a freshman, he had a breakout sophomore year.

The All-Sun Belt First Team performer ranked #6 nationally among tight ends in receiving yards (655) and #9 in receptions (50), both of which led the Sun Belt. He scored four touchdowns on the season and went for more than 40 yards in ten of the team’s 12 games, and had a career best six catches for 120 yards against Memphis.

Following the 2022 season, Traore entered the transfer portal and committed to Deion Sanders at Colorado over an offer from Utah. He spent spring camp with the Buffaloes but re-entered the portal at the end of the semester and picked up offers from Arkansas, Miami, Oregon, Purdue, Illinois, and Washington State.

A four-star transfer, Rivals ranks Traore as the #118 overall transfer and #7 tight end. Pro Football Focus gave him an 81.4 grade last season, which ranks #2 among tight ends returning to school for the 2023 season.

After carrying zero tight ends on the roster under Mike Leach in 2022, Traore is the third tight end in Mississippi State’s transfer portal class, joining Georgia’s Ryland Goede and TCU’s Geor’Quarius Spivey.

In additon to the tight ends, the Bulldogs added Eastern Washington wide receiver Freddie Roberson, Penn State running back Keyvone Lee, and Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright on the offensive side of the ball. They lost running back Dillon Johnson to Washington, wide receiver Rara Thomas to Georgia, and wide receiver Rufus Harvey who is still in the transfer portal.

As a second time transfer Traore will need a waiver in order to be eligible for the 2023 season, but he gives Mississippi State a projected starter at tight end in 2024 with Goede and Spivey both in their final season of eligibility this fall. A position switch to wide receiver could also be a possibility.