Wednesday was a strange day on the [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag] front for LSU.
After his surprise decision on Dec. 5 to forgo the opportunity to go pro and return to the Tigers in 2023, Boutte reversed course and declared for the NFL draft. Earlier in the day, LSU announced that Boutte would not play in the Citrus Bowl vs. Purdue on Jan. 2 but was still enrolled in spring classes.
Boutte returning to LSU in 2023 always felt a bit too good to be true. The junior was considered one of the top receiver prospects in college football entering the season after a monster campaign in 2021 that was cut short due to injury after six games.
He never developed a strong connection with [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] this fall and his production dropped, though he still had 538 yards and two touchdowns on 48 catches.
Getting Boutte back in an already talented receiver room would have given the Tigers one of the top corps in college football, but the outlook is far from bleak, even without him.
Though the team loses role players [autotag]Jack Bech[/autotag] (transfer portal) and [autotag]Jaray Jenkins[/autotag] (NFL draft), the Tigers will return leading receiver [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], who had a breakout campaign as a true sophomore. He finished with 63 catches for 854 yards and two touchdowns, and he should be Daniels’ favorite target once more.
LSU also brings back [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], who only had 330 yards on 27 catches but found the end zone four times, and [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], a Louisiana transfer who saw an increased role down the stretch. [autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag] should also return to the group after missing much of the 2022 season with a shoulder injury.
That doesn’t even take the new additions into account. LSU landed one of the top receivers in the transfer portal in [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag], a former five-star recruit who was once committed to the Tigers. Anderson made a minimal impact as a true freshman at Alabama in 2022, and the New Orleans native has returned to his home state.
We also can’t forget the pair of recently signed top-100 prospects in [autotag]Jalen Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], who could each make an impact as true freshmen in 2023.
There’s no way to sugarcoat Boutte’s loss. He’s one of the game’s most talented receivers at this level, and his departure will hurt. But this is a receiving corps that certainly has the talent and depth to handle that loss.
Daniels should have no shortage of targets in the passing game next fall.
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