I don’t have to tell you, but football season is quickly approaching. Football, of the American variety, is a sport beloved by pretty much everyone. One of the things we love about the sport is that is played by athletes who display extraordinary abilities. There are different ways to describe those players. I believe there is hierarchy when it comes to terms used.

Not sure if I did that meme above correctly, but that is my hierarchy of player compliments.I am going to use Kayshon Boutte’s 2020 season to further illustrate what I mean.

“He’s nice” is a good way to describe a player who is pretty good. You see a player make a nice play for the first, and think, “ok, he’s nice”. With Boutte, the “he’s nice” moment came against Auburn in 2020. Trailing 48-3 (yeah, I know), Boutte streaked down the sideline for a 48-yard touchdown catch.

Obviously a disappointing effort by LSU, but seeing Boutte emerge as a deep threat was certainly a nice moment

The next level is when a guy is “different”. This is when a player establishes himself as a tier above. For Boutte, that came against Alabama. In the first play of the second quarter, he took a slant route 44 yards before having a Desean Jackson-esque moment in which he dropped the ball right before the goal line.

Boutte speeding past a safety with an angle makes it apparent that “he’s different”.

“He’s got that dog in him” has been heavily popularized in 2022, and I’m afraid it will go into overdrive during football season. I am sure you have seen the meme.

To describe someone as “having that dog in him” is to say that player refuses to lose. In addition to ability, that player has the wherewithal to dominate his competition. That is what we saw Boutte do against Ole Miss.

Finally, we have “he’s a ball-playing Jesse”. This a term reserved for the few and proud. This designation cannot just be bestowed upon anyone. By the end of the the 2020 LSU-Ole Miss game, it was clear that Kayshon Boutte is a “ball-playing Jesse”.

Boutte had 14 catches for 308 yards against Ole Miss that day. The latter now stands as a LSU single game yardage record. With this performance Boutte certified himself as a “ball-playing Jesse”.

“Ball-playing Jesse” has to become more commonly used this football season. Try to say it without cracking a smile; you probably can’t!

However, there is a player compliment that is popular that did not make my hierarchy. That is the phrase, “he’s him” or some variation of that. Not only is it redundant, but its pronoun use could ignite a debate and that is just not necessary.

OUTTA HERE!