Kayshon Boutte's Best Bet Would've Been To Spend 2023 At LSU With Jayden Daniels | Glenn Guilbeau

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Sometimes, it is best for athletes to wait for the game to come to them.

Or in today's world of hyper, online gambling, it would have been best for former LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to wait for the gaming to come to him.

Louisiana State Police Still Investigating

Louisiana State Police arrested Boutte, 21, on Thursday on felony charges of computer fraud and other charges of sports gambling, including creating fake gambling accounts during his time at LSU in 2022 and '23.

Authorities jailed Boutte, who just finished his NFL rookie year with the New England Patriots last season, on the charges on Thursday before he was soon released on $6,000 bond. More charges may be coming as the State Police's investigation continues before Boutte faces trial and possibly multiple years in jail and a $10,000 fine at the worst. Or Boutte's sentence could be significantly lighter, as is often the case with LSU football players and former LSU football players here.

Former LSU WR Kayshon Boutte Bet On His Stats

He remains on New England's roster as the Patriots said in a statement that "Boutte is cooperating with the investigation." That investigation as of yet has not found any evidence of Boutte betting on NFL games.

Boutte played the numbers well while placing more than 8,900 bets over the previous two years, including 17 bets on college football games and six of those on LSU game in which he played.

Kayshon Boutte celebrates a touchdown catch with quarterback Jayden Daniels in the loss to Georgia in the SEC title game in the 2022 season in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

According to the warrant for Boutte's arrest that OutKick received Friday, he made $556,267.58 in gambling winnings in 2022 and '23. That was not far below his base salary as a rookie sixth round draft choice last season at New England, which was $750,000.

LSU Tigers Lost To Florida State, And Boutte Lost Bet

The affidavit details Boutte betting on his own statistics in the Tigers' 2022 season opener against Florida State in the Superdome in New Orleans that Sept. 4. Boutte bet that he accumulate over 82.5 receiving yards and catch a touchdown. But Boutte lost as he caught just two passes for 20 yards and no touchdowns in 3.5-point favorite LSU's 24-23 loss to the Seminoles.

And he was visibly upset about it as shown in the following video that has surfaced:

At the time, new LSU starting quarterback Jayden Daniels was far from blossoming into the Heisman Trophy winning superstar he was in 2023. And Boutte never got to see the booty that could have created for him. Daniels threw for just 209 yards in that loss and averaged 208 yards passing a game in 2022 for 71st in the nation.

Boutte Should Have Played 2023 With LSU QB Jayden Daniels

Had Boutte spent another season with Daniels, he likely would have been a good bet to reach higher statistic goals and thus make more money. Daniels averaged 317.7 passing yards a game in 2023 for No. 1 in the nation. He threw for 3,812 yards (fifth nationally) and 40 touchdowns. In 2022, Daniels threw for just 2,913 yards (43rd nationally) and 17 touchdowns.

Oh, the $tat$ Boutte could have totaled had he stayed at LSU for the 2023 season, catching Daniels passes. If he was not caught, of course. He wouldn't have needed to gamble like a fool, because another season with Daniels would have got him picked much higher than the sixth round in the upcoming NFL Draft. And he would have made a lot of money legitimately.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels returning in 2023. (Credit: Getty Images)

Jayden Daniels threw for 3,812 yards in the 2023 season for LSU. (Getty Images)

Boutte's former teammates who played with Daniels in the 2023 season will soon be reaping the benefits.

New England Patriots Did Not Use Kayshon Boutte Much

Wide receiver Malik Nabers is expected to be a top 10 first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after catching 89 passes for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns with Jayden Daniels last season. And Brian Thomas Jr. is likely to be a late first round or early second round selection after catching 68 passes for 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns in the 2023 season.

Kayshon Boutte caught two passes for 19 yards in five games for New England last season. At the moment, he may not be a good bet for larger numbers there next season.

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Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.