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Wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Cooper Kupp were teammates at Eastern Washington from 2013-2016. During that time, Kupp knew that Bourne was going to turn into something special.
Bourne served as the No. 2 receiver at Eastern Washington, as both he and Kupp provided a dynamic duo for school. In three years, Bourne recorded 204 catches for 3,013 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Kupp was able to put up better numbers, including a 2016 season that’s saw him record 117 catches for 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Despite his own success, Kupp was convinced that Bourne was going to be something special. Speaking at Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, Kupp talked about what he saw in Bourne that made him confident in his assessment, as transcribed by NESN’s Zack Cox.
“I remember watching Kendrick’s film after my first year (at EWU),” Kupp recalled Monday during Super Bowl Opening Night. “Our receiver coach said, ‘We’ve got this guy coming in, we think we really like him. Check his film out.’ So I watched him, and I was blown away by just how great of a route-runner he was, how strong he was after the catch, had the twitch. He had so many things about his game that I think are very impressive. He continued to grow, too. He ended up (playing) as a (true) freshman and just continued to get better and better, year after year.
“A little inside scoop, I guess, on Kendrick is before our last year together, I actually sat down with him, and I told him straight up, ‘You are a better receiver than I am.’ And if he was able to get some things in order, he was going to just take off. And I think he really did just that.”
Kupp had a year of historic proportions in 2021. He recorded 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. Although his numbers were not as productive, Bourne enjoyed a career year in his own right. He caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed the ball a little bit, recording 12 carries for 125 yards — while throwing a touchdown pass as well.
As both receivers look to go to new heights, it is fascinating to hear about where their careers began to really take off.
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