How well will LSU transition without Ja’Marr Chase? Ed Orgeron says freshman receiver has already responded to the challenge
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Losing Ja’Marr Chase was certainly a blow to LSU’s offense looking ahead to the upcoming college football season but the star receiver’s decision to opt-out and prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft will make room for others to flourish in the team’s offense.
Or, the way Ed Orgeron likes to express that sentiment, it’s “next man up” in Baton Rouge.
During his most recent weekly appearance on Baton Rouge-based ESPN 104.5 FM radio show “Off The Bench,” Orgeron was asked to share how his team has responded to the first week of practice without Chase on the roster.
“Yeah, it was next man up,” Orgeron said. “And I’ll tell you what, the day that Ja’Marr left, Kayshon Boutte had his best practice. Next man up.”
If you don’t know the name Kayshon Boutte yet, you soon will, as the freshman receiver is currently working his way through his first camp in Baton Rouge.
Rated as the nation’s No. 2 receiver and a five-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle out of New Iberia, La., LSU may just have the next Chase already on the roster.
“I mean, really. I don’t want to put too much on it, but it looks like he’s going to be the next one — the next great one at LSU,” Orgeron said of Boutte. “Him and Koy Moore, two excellent young wide receivers.
“So hey, next man up. Nobody can be Ja’Marr Chase, Ja’Marr was a great player for us. Those guys have their own style and there’s a lot of balls to be thrown out there so we need to find some young receivers to come out and catch some balls for us.”
While losing Chase was tough, that’s exactly what LSU fans want to hear when it comes to how his former teammates have responded to the news.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
