Morning Sports Update

Cooper Kupp shared an ‘inside scoop’ on the advice he gave Kendrick Bourne

"He made things so much fun for us."

Kendrick Bourne
Kendrick Bourne after catching a touchdown pass against the Bills in the Patriots' playoff loss. AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

By Hayden Bird

The men’s edition of the 2022 Beanpot got underway on Monday, with Northeastern and Boston University advancing to the Feb. 14 final at 7:30 p.m.

In the Olympics, Canada defeated the United States in women’s hockey 4-2. The two rivals will likely meet again in the medal round, potentially in the gold medal game.

Elsewhere at the Beijing Games, U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen set a world record score in the short program. Tuesday was also a better day for the U.S. ski team (see below).

Cooper Kupp on Kendrick Bourne: Looking back at the wide receiver group for Eastern Washington in 2016, it’s clear that the FCS program was unusually stacked with talent.

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First there was Cooper Kupp, who in 2021 put together one of the greatest seasons in NFL history for the Rams. But also, EWU had Kendrick Bourne a year behind Kupp.

With Kupp set to take the stage in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, he spoke to reporters on Monday for the Opening Night portion of media coverage.

He was asked about his time in college with Bourne, now a Patrios wide receiver.

“Our receiver coach said, ‘We’ve got this guy coming in, we think we really like him. Check his film out,'” Kupp recalled of his first impression of Bourne. “So 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. 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.”

Kupp said he gave Bourne some words of encouragement.

“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 recalled. “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.”

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“We keep in touch for sure. Kendrick is my guy,” Kupp said of his former college teammate. “His personality, the guy that he is, the joy that he plays this game with is infectious. He made things so much fun for us. So I’ll always keep in touch with KB and the things that he’s doing. I’m always pulling for him.”

Trivia: Players from non-FBS schools have made huge impacts in the NFL for decades. What Patriots Hall of Famer was drafted in the fifth round out of Livingstone in 1991?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He made five straight Pro Bowls from 1994-1998.

More from Boston.com:

New England ties to Olympic medals: Tuesday in Beijing was a great day for the U.S. ski team, including those with local connections. First it was Vermont native Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who skied an incredible run to win silver in the men’s super-G.

Almost 50 years to the day after his mother, Barbara, won a gold in slalom at the 1972 Games, Cochran-Siegle added to the family medal count.

And Jessie Diggins, who trains in Vermont and also lives in South Boston for part of the year, became the first U.S. women’s cross-country skier to win an individual Olympic medal. Diggins famously won gold with teammate Kikkan Randall in the team sprint in 2018.

On this day: In 1984, the Winter Olympics opened in Sarajevo.

Daily highlight: Boston University’s Logan Cockerill opened the Beanpot scoring on Monday with a spectacular piece of speed and skill.

Trivia answer: Ben Coates

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