Cooper Kupp just put together one of the greatest seasons in NFL history for the Rams. But years ago, the star wideout told former college teammate Kendrick Bourne he was even better.
Kupp spoke to reporters Monday ahead of Super Bowl LVI, and told reporters his first impressions of Bourne, who was one year behind him at Eastern Washington University.
“A little inside scoop, I guess, on Kendrick is before our last year together, I actually sat down with him, and I told him straight up, ‘You are a better receiver than I am,'” Kupp said, via Boston.com. “And if he was able to get some things in order, he was going to just take off. And I think he really did just that.”
EWU was unusually stacked with talent during Kupp’s and Bourne’s time at the FBS school, and the two clearly built a friendship. They played against each other for the first four years of their careers in the NFC West before the Patriots signed Bourne last March.
The Rams selected Kupp in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, whereas the 49ers signed Bourne as an undrafted free agent that April.
Kupp says Bourne kept improving in college.
“I watched him, and I was blown away by just how great of a route-runner he was, how strong he was after the catch, he had the [quick] twitch,” Kupp said. “He had so many things about his game that I think are very impressive. He continued to grow, too. He ended up [playing] as a [true] freshman and just continued to get better and better, year after year.”
Bourne caught a career high 55 passes for 800 yards after signing a three-year deal with the Patriots last offseason. Kupp more than doubled his output, leading the league with 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
It would be great for the Patriots if Bourne kept following in his college teammate’s footsteps.