LSU over the past 7-8 years have built up a strong reputation of pumping out lots of strong wide receiver talent. There are guys who have made a name for themselves already in the NFL such as Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and DJ Chark. There are also guys like Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall who expect to hear their names called in the first and second rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft. But what if I told you that there was a wide receiver that is currently on the LSU roster that has the potential to be better than all of these guys? Let me introduce you to Kayshon Boutte.
Kayshon Boutte, if you don’t know who he is, is a 6’0 185 pound wide receiver that was a 5-star high school recruit from this past years’ recruiting class. He was the #2 overall receiver in the class right behind Ohio State’s Julian Fleming. Boutte in his senior season for Westgate High School, saw him catch 47 passes for 1,005 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns. Boutte also carried the ball that season 71 times for 874 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Boutte not only performed on the football field at a high level but also on the track. Boutte back in 2019 set an unprecedented time in the 200 meter dash. He ran a 20.87 which at the time, ranked #3 in the country.
Boutte has been reported to have a 40 time of 4.37 which would have ranked 3rd at the position from last year’s NFL combine. To think he was running something like that at 17-18 years old is mind blowing. Boutte also helped his high school set a Louisiana state record in the 4x200 when the team ran a 1:28:87, Boutte had a 21.861 split on that relay team. Boutte, to put it in simpler terms, is just flat out fast.
Boutte then arrived at LSU where he fought to be the WR3 on the team with guys like Racey McNath, Jaray Jenkins, Trey Palmer with Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall locked in to man the #1 and #2 roles. However as the season began to unfold we saw more and more opportunities for Boutte to have a featured role in the offense. The first domino to fall in the offseason was Chase deciding to opt out for the 2020 season. From there, more dominoes began to fall, Marshall opted out midway through the season, freshman starting tight end Arik Gilbert entered the transfer portal, and McNath had missed time due to a hamstring injury. Boutte had flashed on some instances for the first 7 games of the season not as the primary target, but then once it became clear that Boutte would have an opportunity to be the #1 on the team, he made the most out of his opportunities and then some.
Boutte as soon as he got that opportunity had a historic 3 game stretch for the Tigers. Boutte from weeks 14-16, led the NCAA in receiving yards (526), in receptions (27) and was tied for 3rd in receiving touchdowns (4). Boutte saw him have stat lines of 8 receptions for 111 yards against Alabama and 5 receptions for 108 yards and 1 touchdown against Florida. But Boutte had a performance that deserves to be talked about in depth.
LSU had a disappointing 2020 season, it saw them fall from winning the national championship the year before, to a 5-5 record this season. They had one more game on the schedule left against Ole Miss which was a pointless game really for both teams, but both teams wanted to end off on a high note with a victory. LSU ended up winning the game 53-48 and ended the disappointing season in victory, however there may have not been someone who ended off on a higher note than Boutte did that day. Boutte in that game as an 18 year old true freshman, broke the single game SEC record for the most receiving yards in a game. Boutte caught 14 passes for 308 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, which was held by Arkansas's Cobi Hamilton (303). Boutte was open all game and you saw the flashes of his speed and tackle breaking ability throughout the game.
That play right there was the play that won LSU the game, Boutte was able to come through on a clutch situation and show off his elite athleticism to take it home for the LSU lead. Head coach Ed Orgeron had this to say about Boutte’s emergence after the game,
“When Ja’Marr Chase left, Kayshon had a tremendous practice. Man, he was catching the go-route about as good as anybody I’ve ever seen. But he’s learned the offense, not only a speed receiver, he runs good routes, especially the dig, and he catches all the balls thrown to him. He’s made improvements, still has a long ways. I think he’s going to be one of the great players that we have here at LSU.” (SaturdayDownSouth)
To think Coach O said that Boutte still has a long way to go, really shows how much potential we are looking at right now with this young man. Boutte finished his true freshman season with 45 receptions for 735 yards and 5 touchdowns. Boutte ranked first among freshman wide receivers in receiving yards despite not starting for most of the season. To put his freshman season in comparison with some of the great LSU wide receivers that have come before him, here is how Boutte’s freshman season stacks up with other freshman seasons.
Kayshon Boutte: 45rec/735yards/5TDs
Odell Beckham: 41rec/475yards/2TDs
Jarvis Landry: 4rec/43yards
Ja’Marr Chase: 23rec/313yards/3TDs
Terrace Marshall: 12rec/192yards
Justin Jefferson: NONE
DJ Chark: NONE
Boutte’s freshman season was better than all of these LSU studs that came before him. He was recently named FWAA’s National Freshman Breakout Of The Year and was on their first team all-freshman team. To think that he still has a couple more years left until he is draft eligible and he has shown this type of potential, speaks volumes of what a special talent Boutte is. The potential is sky high, he is walking next year into the #1 WR role for the Tigers with the obvious chance to really explode onto the scene with more recognition amongst the football world.
Right now, he is in my opinion, the unquestioned best receiver in the 2023 class. Marvin Mims, Jordan Addison, Jermaine Burton, and E.J. Williams are all guys I do like, but Boutte I think is in his own tier at this moment. He is special and we are watching a potential superstar in the making.