All systems are go for this offensive star and hometown hero

Scroll through Trey’Dez Green’s TikTok account, and you’ll find one recurring theme.

Like most college athletes, Green has an occasional highlight reel or LSU hype video scattered throughout his feed.

But nearly half of his posts are just simply videos of Green dancing—in the locker room, around campus, in his apartment, with his teammates. No matter who he’s with or where he’s breaking it down, he’s always got a smile on his face.

It’s just a small peek into the personality of LSU’s star tight end, but it helps paint a larger picture of what makes Green so special.

He’s a menacing, 6-foot-7 matchup nightmare with basketball hops and a wide receiver’s hands that keep defensive coordinators awake at night. But he’s also the goofy kid from Jackson, Louisiana, with a contagious laugh, a strong work ethic and a passionate dedication to his family.

Simply put, Green is a big dude with a big heart and a big character, who makes a big impact on and off the football field.

“[Everyone] has a fun side to you, and I’m just enjoying the moment,” Green tells 225. “I love football with everything in me, and my love of football has grown. Football has taught me so many life skills and taught me how to be the man that I am today. Just by going through the hard workouts and having to be at a certain place at a certain time—it teaches you so much structure in your life. [I’m always] so happy because I wake up with a purpose every day.”

Family first

That purpose Green mentions is far more than just a stat line, an accolade or a trophy.

Green is the proud father of Rian Cherise Green, his 16-month-old daughter who immediately managed to bring out a soft side to her formidable father.

“She was born March 21, 10:41 p.m.,” Green says. You can hear his smile as he wanders back to that day. “It softened me up for sure. I held her, and I’ll just never forget that moment. That was the most important moment of my life, man. It changed my life, and it gives me another purpose to go out and do what I do. She’s the greatest blessing that God has blessed me with. I know that she’s watching me and watching every move I make, so I just want to set a good example for her.”

As Green continues to share stories of his daughter saying “Daddy” for the first time or fittingly learning the “Six Seven” dance that kids do nowadays, it’s clear that he himself had some prominent parental figures in his life growing up.

And you don’t have to look far to find the most impactful one.

Green’s mom, Casondra, is just across the apartment, playing with her granddaughter.

“She calls my mom ‘Gigi,’” Green says, still audibly smiling. “My mom loves her. I know my mom probably shows a little favoritism towards her because I’m my mom’s baby, and that’s my daughter. So I know she’s the favorite. She lets her get away with anything. The things that she gets away with, I would not have been able to get away with. But that’s what grandmas are for.”

Casondra now lives with her son, in part to help take care of Rian while Green juggles the endless schedule of a high-level Division I student-athlete trying to balance practice, workouts and meetings on top of classes, NIL deals and now fatherhood.

But that’s how it’s always been with Casondra—she’s going to show up for her people, regardless of whatever is standing in the way.

Casondra worked two jobs throughout Green’s childhood to support and provide for her family. She was also diagnosed with breast cancer on Green’s sixth birthday.

The news hit the family hard, particularly for Casondra’s young son, who had to watch his mom fight chemotherapy on top of all her other maternal duties.

But somehow between work, her treatments and everything else moms do, Casondra still found a way to make it to all but four games in Green’s entire athletic career.

“It felt like there was never a time that I would look over and not see my mom in the stands,” Green tells 225. “She was sick and had to be at work the next day, but she drove all the way to Orlando, Florida, for one day to watch me play one basketball game. She spent a little time with me and drove back and was at work that next morning. That’s what got me and my mom so close—seeing her going through all the stuff that she went through and all the sacrifices she has made. I get emotional thinking about all the stuff that she did for me. She’s a real survivor. She’s my superwoman.”

Casondra has now been cancer-free for several years, but the strength, dedication and effort she showed during that time has seemingly been passed on to her son.

Green’s on-field production, coupled with his off-field personality, has boosted his estimated NIL value to over $1 million, according to On3—a figure that has allowed him to return the favor back to his mother.

“Now, I get a chance to make her smile,” Green says. “I get a chance to do what I always told her that I was going to do—I get a chance to take care of her and make it so she never has to work again in her life. And that puts a smile on my face.”

Coming out of retirement

There’s that smile again—one of Green’s signature motifs.

Whether he’s helping out his family, filming a fun video for social media or celebrating a touchdown with his teammates, it seems to be a calling card he’s carried with him from childhood and into his football career.

But he almost didn’t have a football career whatsoever.

Given his height, Green was originally a basketball star, but he joined his first football team in Clinton when he was in second grade. At one of the first practices, the coach made Green go up against former LSU and current TCU safety Kylin Green in a 1-on-1 drill.

It didn’t go well.

“We went head to head and he hit me so hard,” Green laughs. “I said, ‘I’m not playing football anymore.’ I completely stopped playing football. I didn’t touch it. He retired me.”

Green stayed “retired” from football all the way up until his sophomore year of high school when his friends eventually convinced him—against his mom’s wishes—to sneak out and give it another try.

The rest is history.

“I didn’t know what I could do in football, and I felt like I was so much better in basketball,” says Green, who originally joined both LSU’s football and basketball teams. “I got to college and after the bowl game happened, I thought, ‘Man, I’m kind of good at this. I really could do this.’”

The game Green is referring to was the 2024 Kinder’s Texas Bowl, during which he recorded 6 catches for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns—the most productive outing of his freshman season.

That was just a glimpse into what Green would bring to the table the following year, when he racked up 33 catches for 433 yards, both third best on the team, along with a team-high 7 touchdown catches.

“I feel like I’m a unicorn,” says Green, who eventually quit basketball to fully focus on football. “I don’t think there are a lot of people that are 6-foot-7 that can move how I move, so I feel like I made the right choice. This offseason, I really had the chance to attack the run game and work on my blocking technique, so I feel like I’m a complete tight end. And this might sound crazy coming from me being a basketball player who got retired by getting hit, but I like the contact part of it. I love to hit.”

It’s a fitting full-circle realization for Green, who has quickly worked his way into being one of the top tight ends in the country and is currently viewed as a first-round pick in many early NFL Draft projections.

He’s become such a threat to opposing defenses that even the announcers would refer to the red zone—the area of the football field between the 20-yard line and the endzone—as the Green zone during broadcasts.

“First and foremost, [Green] is an incredible human,” LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt tells 225. “You see that with the way he treats every single person in the facility the exact same. He always has a smile on his face and just has incredible juice and is a super hard worker. On top of that, he’s beyond blessed with his physical ability. If you pair all those things together, it gives you the opportunity to have a really special career. He could have a gold [Hall of Fame] jacket by the end of his time playing. He’s an incredible person to be around.”

And Green isn’t done dancing either, although you likely won’t need to go to social media to find it. Just take a look at the back of the endzone after one of LSU’s touchdown drives.

Chances are, he’ll be busting a move with all of his teammates and, of course, with a big smile across his face.

“I want to be the same person every day,” Green says. “I want to come in and give 110% every day, and I want to smile every day and make everybody’s day better. You never know how someone is doing. A handshake or a smile could change somebody’s life.”

This article was originally published in 225 Magazine’s 2026 Tiger Pride edition.