Patriots HoFer Who Coached Kayshon Boutte Shoots Down Any Questions About His 'Coachability'
It's hard to believe that it's already been seven years since Kevin Faulk pulled this stunt at the NFL Draft. He up for consideration to the Patriots Hall of Fame. Tom Brady was, and I can say this with confidence, facing the gravest injustice ever done to a human being in history. And his old star 3rd down back showed his support with the TB12 jersey.
Some at the time suggested Faulk only did this to curry favor with the public. To which every single Patriots fan responded in unison, "Works for me. He's got my vote." And served notice to anyone running for anything that, if they want the support of voters, they need to pander harder.
Anyway, I bring this up today to point out that all these drafts later, Faulk is still serving the good citizens of New England.
At the end of last week, I took a deep dive into Patriots rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who for reasons both good and bad is should be a major focus of our attention this year:
The good being the way he projected to be a first round talent during an exceptional freshman season. His size/speed combination. And his game film, where his YAC production can't be ignored.
The bad? It begins with the ankle he broken making a catch in 2021, when he already had nine touchdowns in less than six games. Then there was the decline in his numbers last season, following a coaching change. And questions about how his new coaches viewed him:
Source - Brian Kelly admits it: He called out Kayshon Boutte.
Boutte, LSU football's star wide receiver, was not attending workouts ahead of the start of spring practices in March. Although he was still recovering from a second surgery to his right ankle that would keep him out all spring, LSU's first-year coach was disappointed in the junior's absence.
"He's a great player. He's a good kid. But this has been a rough spot for him," Kelly said in March. "And what happens is you tend to get distracted because you're not involved in everything. But he's learning you got to be involved with everything whether you're injured or not." …
Kelly told The Daily Advertiser he "threw a shot across his bow" at Boutte because of his lack of familiarity with him at the time.
"I don't normally send messages in the media to players," Kelly said. "I usually talk to them, but I didn't know him very well. So it was the best way for me to kind of get his attention."
Kelly believes that Boutte responded well, pointing out how the junior needs to be a leader among a younger corps of wide receivers.
I repeat that Brian Kelly is an untrustable, duplicitous dickhead. If he has a problem with someone, that person ought to put it at the top of his resume. Not being able to get along with him is proof you're a decent human being, worthy of respect. Still, it's comforting to know that someone who coached at LSU when Boutte was there disagrees. Strongly. Especially when that coach is Kevin Faulk:
Source - Kevin Faulk defended Boutte against one report from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe that the wideout “was off some teams' draft boards due to coachability concerns” to the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian. Faulk served as LSU’s running backs coach in 2020 and 2021 during Boutte’s freshman and sophomore seasons.
“All I can tell you is I don’t know where that came from,” Faulk told the Herald. “Because when I was with that kid, he was very coachable. When you say a kid’s not coachable, that means a coach can’t relate to who the kid is as a player. That’s all that is to me.”
An LSU source painted a similar picture of Boutte, once a five-star recruit and projected first-round pick, to A to Z Sports.
“Boutte was coachable,” he said. “I think people just don’t know what to make of his drop in production over the last two years.”
“You don’t know what happens to a guy when an injury happens,” Faulk. “You’ve got to have a strong mental capacity, to be able to withstand it, and move through it. …
“They know what they’re getting,” Faulk told Guregian. “(New Patriots offensive coordinator) Bill O’Brien coached against him when he was with Alabama. So he knew what type of receiver he was getting.”
Faulk knows. This other LSU source knows. Bill O'Brien knows. Boutte is your classic Belichick late round selection. An unlimited ceiling. A guy with everything in the world to prove, to everyone in the world. And the more we get these anonymous suggestions of his "coachability," the more it ups the ante.
I can't guarantee Boutte is going to prove he belongs in the NFL and goes on to a long and successful career. What I do know is that he was kissed by the gods and given all the raw materials he needs. He had a freak injury that required two surgeries and he came back from it. In the meantime, there was a turnover at LSU's coaching staff. He was moved from outside boundary-X receiver into primarily a slot role. And his yards per route, yards per catch, and touchdowns dropped. And that he was passed over by every team in the league an average of five times before the Pats took him with their like 27th pick. But he's got O'Brien. He's got Troy Brown as his position coach. And he's got all the incentive any gifted athlete needs to stick all that doubt and character questions in everybody's face.
Now the most fascinating Pats rookie of 2023 just got fascinatinger.