LSU won’t have a key contributor on offense available to them in their upcoming bowl game, the team revealed on Wednesday.
Tigers head coach Brian Kelly announced that wide receiver Kayshon Boutte won’t play in the Citrus Bowl. The star receiver, who recently announced he’d return to LSU for the 2023 season, remains enrolled with the program according to Kelly, but he won’t play for an unspecified reason.
Louisiana reporter Jacques Doucet tweeted, “Statement from @LSUfootball: ORLANDO — LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is unavailable for the bowl game + will not play when the Tigers face Purdue on Monday in Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, head coach Brian Kelly said. Kelly said Boutte is enrolled at LSU for the spring semester.”
Statement from @LSUfootball:
ORLANDO – #LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is unavailable for the bowl game + will not play when the Tigers face Purdue on Monday in Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, head coach Brian Kelly said.
Kelly said Boutte is enrolled at LSU for the spring semester.— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) December 28, 2022
Boutte caught 48 passes for 538 yards and two touchdowns during the 2022 season. This after he emerged as a sophomore with 38 receptions, 509 yards, and nine receiving touchdowns.
The sudden absence of Boutte raised more questions than answers on Wednesday. The Advocate’s Scott Rabalais tweeted, “LSU just released a brief two paragraph statement saying Kayshon Boutte won’t play in the Citrus Bowl but is enrolled for the spring semester. The kind of statement that raises more questions than answers. Makes it sound like it’s an academic issue and not an injury.”
#LSU just released a brief two paragraph statement saying Kayshon Boutte won’t play in the Citrus Bowl but is enrolled for the spring semester. The kind of statement that raises more questions than answers. Makes it sound like it’s an academic issue and not an injury.
— Scott Rabalais (@RabalaisAdv) December 28, 2022
LSU Tigers Wire reporter and user @rozenwill exercised judgment and offered ap possible explanation. “Also, Kayshon Boutte became a father this fall and just had to work back from injury. If it’s academic, that’s understandable. If he’s trying to avoid injury and spend time with his family, that’s fine too,” said Will.
Also, Kayshon Boutte became a father this fall and just had to work back from an injury. If it's academic, that's understandable. If he's trying to avoid injury and spend time with family, that's fine too.
— Will (@rozenwill) December 28, 2022
The Get Back Coach podcast also wondered, “Is either team going to have enough players?!”
Is either team going to have enough players?! https://t.co/st556hyTBe
— The Get Back Coach (@TheGBCoach) December 28, 2022
And writer and SEC Network contributor Mike Griffith said, “The non-CFP bowls are in trouble,” as Griffith responded to a report that Boutte, essentially, opted out of the bowl game.
The non-CFP bowls are in trouble https://t.co/i8VNaKBDwd
— MikeGriffith32 (@MikeGriffith32) December 28, 2022
