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College football rankings: Top 10 wide receivers of 2021

By Cody Williams

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 28: Chris Olave #17 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is congratulated by his teammates after his touchdown reception against the Clemson Tigers in the second half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 28: Chris Olave #17 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is congratulated by his teammates after his touchdown reception against the Clemson Tigers in the second half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Kayshon Boutte. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

7. Kayshon Boutte, LSU

With Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, among several others, leading the LSU offense, the Tigers looked downright unstoppable. But as the majority of the offensive starters left for the NFL after the program captured a National Championship, there was a precipitous drop-off as Ed Orgeron’s team tried to find their footing.

As the year wore on, though, LSU started to get a little bit of mojo and, while figuring some things out at quarterback was part of that, finding an elite pass-catching target to emerge like Kayshon Boutte did undoubtedly didn’t hurt the cause.

Over the first seven games he played, Boutte never caught more than five passes in one game and never topped 50 yards. Moreover, he had just one touchdown over that span as well. So it definitely felt like he came out of nowhere to end the year when he reeled off games of 8-111-0, 5-108-1 and a remarkable 14-catch, 308-yard and three-touchdown game to end the year against Ole Miss.

Boutte is the clear-cut guy in the LSU passing offense coming into the 2021 season as a sophomore and Max Johnson appears capable of taking advantage of that. If he can build on how he ended last season, Boutte could put up some truly special numbers for the Tigers.