by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
KAYSHON BOUTTE
2021 STATS
435 Yards
30 Catches
14.5 Yards Per Catch
9 TDs
-3.3
(Every 3.3 touches, Boutte scores a TD)
How explosive can one player possibly be for his team?
How dominant can a 6 foot 0, 190 pound receiver really be?
It turns out, if you're Kayshon Boutte, an awful lot:
Following recent Tiger WR greats Justin Jefferson, Ja'marr Chase and Terrace Marshall, Kayshon Boutte has more than lived up to the hype from LSU Odyssey's bold freshman predictions (435+ Yards and 5+ TDs) & our preseason 2021 projections of 16 TDs & Biletnikoff predictions....
....frankly, without Boutte, LSU could have 3 losses already...
Catching a ridiculous 9 touchdowns through LSU's first 5 games, Kayshon is without a doubt the single most electric WR in the SEC...and now Kayshon is about to prove he's the best in the country.
Can he do it against the best?
Catching 345 yards & 2 TDs (as well as a pair of additional "phantom" touchdowns) in 4 appearances vs top 25 teams, 3 among the top 10, LSU's #1 receiver is a certified dawg.
However, i feel as though Boutte's production would be even higher if LSU's offensive staff weren't so aloof. Will Jake Peetz's system be able to find the New Iberia-native enough to give him the awards season spotlight he deserves?
Regardless, recognition and appreciation for Boutte's LSU career will grow in stature as the years go on:
Compared to Jefferson, Chase or Marshall's 2019 glory, the Tigers' current fever dream wide out is scoring TDs while ensconced in a dysfunctional offense without an OL or running game...for the second consecutive season.
Scoring crucial, tone-setting TDs during the 1st quarter or lighting up the opening of the second half, Boutte has put his team in a position to win all 5 games.
I cannot name a player who can stop him right now...can you?
Already holding 14 TDs over 15 appearances, the LSU sophomore is breaking records by the performance, and let's don't forget....this Tiger already holds the all time mark for receiving yards during a single SEC contest.
Eclipsing the 100 yard mark 5x over 15 games, while snagging multiple TDs during 4 appearances, the prospects of guarding Kayshon always turns into a psycho-physical labrynth many DBs become trapped in.
Remember...while we tally these numbers, there's also 2 TDs Boutte should've scored as a freshman, 1 vs Alabama where he "DeSean Jackson'd" the ball at the 1 yard line, and a brilliant back shoulder catch vs Texas A&M from a worthy TJ Finley throw...instead, the blind referees incredibly ruled the 40+ yard catch to be incomplete.
Plus, Boutte dropped 2 TDs this season and had a big 3rd down catch bobble out of his possession vs Auburn....which points to something scary for all future opponents:
There is still room for growth in Boutte's game, which has to be a terrifying thought for anyone slated to face him.
Regardless of the effortless grace of his gliding playmaking theatrics, how fast Boutte made it to 15 TDs or how quickly the gates opened for him to become a starter, it hasn't always been easy for the former Westgate superstar.
Nearly being decapitated in two games as a freshman, including on his first catch in week 1 vs Miss St, plus a vicious hit to the head from Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon, Boutte was roughed up more than any 2020 LSU receiver...all on his way to becoming the all time SEC record holder during his 308 yard, 3 TD and 14 catch adventure vs Ole Miss.
Even that performance followed Boutte suffering an ankle injury early and battling through significant pain every yard...
Luckily, outside of a little knock he suffered during UCLA and McNeese, or a couple concussions from last season's Miss St and Arkansas games, Kayshon has been fully healthy and present for every game of his LSU career, though he was recently held out of practice this week for injury....he's constantly there when his Tiger teammates need him the most.
Nowhere near finished tearing up the record books and rewriting them one by one, LSU's premier receiver is an Excalibur talent......a special phenom who, much like Ja'marr Chase and Terrace Marshall before him, now teaches the younger Tiger receivers how it's done.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON
24 TDs
30 Apps.
JA'MARR CHASE
23 TDs
24 Apps.
TERRACE MARSHALL
23 TDs
28 Apps.
KAYSHON BOUTTE
14 TDs
15 Apps.
GEAUX DEEPER ON THE SEC'S BEST WR AND THE NEXT LSU JUGGERNAUT:
All about his breathtaking performance vs Ole Miss and how it happened
Where does Kayshon rank in our Top 10 of 2020? A full freshman game by game profile.
You won't even believe these predictions, but there they are, locked in on July 1st 2020....and yes, we predicted Kayshon would grab THOSE numbers with Chase, Marshall and Gilbert still on roster. LSU Odyssey always believed in Kayshon.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
Copyright 2021 Uninterrupted writings Inc
SHOUTOUTS: Michael "Butch Davis" Dineen