Kayshon Boutte: 'I'm motivated more than ever now' after fall to Patriots in sixth round

BATON ROUGE – LSU football wide receiver Kayshon Boutte addressed his fall down to the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday.

Boutte, a former five-star recruit, was selected by the New England Patriots with the 187th overall pick.

"I'm motivated more than ever now," Boutte said on a conference call with reporters on Saturday.

Boutte had an uneven three seasons at LSU. After having 45 catches for 735 yards as a freshman and nine touchdowns in six games as a sophomore, Boutte injured his ankle midway through his second season, which forced him to sit out the rest of the year.

After Brian Kelly was hired as the Tigers' new coach after the season, Boutte admitted that he considered transferring. He stayed but then got called out by Kelly before spring practices for his lack of participation during team activities.

"He's a great player. He's a good kid. But this has been a rough spot for him," Kelly said in March of 2022. "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."

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Boutte went on to struggle in his third and final season at LSU, accumulating just 538 receiving yards and only scoring two touchdowns.

He then committed to returning to Baton Rouge for his senior season. But after Kelly ruled him out for the Tigers' bowl game against Purdue, Boutte quickly reversed course and declared for the draft.

"I feel like my college career was good, but it could've been better," Boutte said.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kayshon Boutte more motivated then ever now after 2023 NFL Draft