LSU names Malik Nabers offensive captain for New Mexico matchup
The LSU Tigers have announced the team’s offensive captain for the Week 4 matchup against New Mexico State. Joining BJ Ojulari, Ali Gaye, and Mike Jones Jr. this week will be wide receiver Malik Nabers as the Tigers’ captain for the offense. LSU made the announcement Friday afternoon from their Twitter account with this photo of the four players attached.
It has been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least, for Nabers to start the season. In LSU’s season opener against Florida State, he struggled with his ball security on special teams, muffing two punts. Afterward, he faced harsh scrutiny from the local media. LSU’s head coach Brian Kelly was also critical of his performance in the team’s postgame press conference. Since then, the sophomore from Youngsville, LA, has bounced back impressively for the Tigers. Over the past two games, Nabers has caught nine catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown came in their Week 2 victory over the Southern Jaguars.
With opposing defenses paying great attention to LSU’s star receiver Kayshon Boutte, it has left Nabers in a prime position to pick up the slack. If he continues his upward trend in the offense, he can find himself succeeding Boutte as the Tigers’ top receiving threat next season. And even put himself in the same category of elite receivers from LSU to head to the NFL, such as Dwayne Bowe, Odell Beckham Jr., and Justin Jefferson, to name a few.
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LSU’s Boutte to miss game vs New Mexico due to birth of first child
When LSU takes on New Mexico on Saturday, it will be without wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. Brian Kelly announced Thursday he’s excused from the matchup as he and his girlfriend expect their first child.
Kelly made the announcement in his press conference ahead of the Tigers’ matchup against the Lobos. Boutte has 10 receptions for 93 yards through three games for LSU this season.
“‘Kay’ is not going to be playing this weekend. He has been excused to be with his girlfriend, who is expecting their first child,” Kelly told reporters. “They have a baby boy on the way and probably may have already had the baby boy, but he is with her and we expect some great news here, hopefully in the next few hours. So I have excused him from playing this weekend and we wish him and his new mom all the best.”
Boutte was seen as a potential difference-maker in the LSU offense this year, but still doesn’t have a receiving touchdown to his name. It’s a stark contrast from last year, he had 83 receptions for 1,244 yards and 14 touchdowns to help lead the Tigers offense.
Earlier this week, Kelly talked about what it’ll take to get Boutte back on track and said there are a few different factors in play.