Breaking Down the Film: 'The Waterboy'

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

​The dreams of college football players all come down to one big day. On April 27th, franchises will gather in Philadelphia to select their newest stars from this year’s pool of prospects at the 2017 NFL Draft. Teams will look to add the next John Elway, Paul Crewe, or Deion Sanders. But what if I told you one of college football’s greatest talents never got drafted…? This is the story of Bobby Boucher. 

A Modest Upbringing

Bobby Boucher grew up in the small town of Jackson’s Bayou, Louisiana, billed as 'The Heart of Cajun Country'. His father Robert was out of the picture at an early age, leaving Bobby to be raised by his strong, albeit overbearing, single mother Helen and their indoor pet mule Steve. While Helen loved Bobby unconditionally and supported most of his pursuits, she was manipulative and sheltered him from football and college life. In fact, Bobby didn’t see a football field as a player until the age of 31. If it weren’t for his father, he may have never set foot on one at all.
 
Despite having moved on from Helen and Bobby, now living in a big city with a voodoo woman named Phyllis, 'Roberto' profoundly impacted Bobby’s life. After Robert deserted the family, Helen sought an explanation that would be palatable to her young son. She told Bobby that his father died of dehydration while serving for the Peace Corps in the Sahara.  Bobby soon became determined to make an impact in the hydration business, taking up a job as the waterboy for Coach Red Beaulieu’s prestigious University of Louisiana (UL) football team at age 13.
 
At that young age, Boucher showed a strong work ethic and a propensity towards being part of a team. He proudly held his gig at UL for 18 years, driving his lawnmower for miles on end every day just to support the club. But Bobby Boucher had a dark side. Underneath his happy exterior, this aquatic engineer held a lot of anger. That animosity was present in Boucher’s youth when he attempted to attack a UL player for spitting in a cooler. But his anger only truly began to boil over after he was fired from UL many years later… 

The Birth of a Football Player

​18 years after being scolded by Coach Red Beaulieu for attempting to attack a player, Boucher was released from UL for being a distraction to the team. This set in motion a series of events that changed Boucher’s life.
 
Out of work for the first time in his adult life, Boucher traveled to the struggling South Central Louisiana State University (SCLSU) in search of a new waterboy gig. SCLSU’s football team had bred a culture of losing leading to a lack of funding. The team had to share everything from helmets to – disgustingly – athletic cups. (Fun fact: Due to the tight budget, Boucher would go on to become the first linebacker in NCAA history to wear a helmet with a kicker’s style one-bar facemask.) He agreed to work for SCLSU’s Coach Klein for free.
 
Unfortunately, the bullying that tormented Boucher at UL followed him to SCLSU. But this time, things were different. After Bobby was harassed by teammates on his first day of work, Coach Klein encouraged him to stand up for himself. Boucher laid a hit on quarterback Gee Grenouille that sent a shockwave through that small corner of Louisiana.
 
Coach Klein was impressed by Boucher’s natural and untapped talent and offered him a spot on SCLSU’s defensive roster in the hopes that he could bring him up to speed. And that he did. Coach Klein encouraged Boucher to find his inner 'tackling fuel', the anger he relied on to punish opposing ballcarriers. On the field, Boucher looked less like his meek alter ego, a timid waterboy who knew nothing of football, and more like his childhood hero, pro wrestler Captain Insano. Coach Klein, special teams coach Farmer Fran, and kicker/teammate Derek Wallace all mentored Bobby and pushed him to the pinnacle of success… 

A Meteoric Rise to Stardom

​Waterboy. Walk on. Record breaker. All-American. MVP.
 
Aside from quarterback Kurt Warner – who famously went from going undrafted and bagging groceries at a supermarket to Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Fame inductee – few players in any sport have a story like Bobby Boucher. He started his freshman season as a 31-year-old who never played a down of football in his life. He ended that same season as a terror to opposing offenses and as a Louisiana football hero.
 
On the very first play of his very first game, Boucher recorded a sack. That would be a trend for the rest of the day against Western Mississippi University. Boucher set an NCAA record with an unbelievable 16 sacks in that one game, in addition to numerous other tackles, quarterback pressures, and an interception. Unfortunately, his lack of football IQ reared its ugly head, as Boucher would turn the ball over for a game-winning touchdown, all in a selfish effort to dropkick his opponent.
 
Boucher turned himself around in following games, including big matchups against Central Kentucky, Clemson, Louisville, and Iowa. He recorded a game-winning safety against Central Kentucky and, more dramatically, a game winning field goal block and return to defeat Iowa and clinch a spot in the Bourbon Bowl. Through those games, Boucher gained national notoriety and increased his draft stock. By the time the Bourbon Bowl was said and done, ESPN had projected Boucher to be a top draft pick in the 1998 draft. But as we know, that never came to fruition… 

A Draft Day Dream Come True

Despite being pegged as a top prospect, Bobby Boucher decided to skip the draft, stay in school at SCLSU, and earn his degree. Had he declared for the draft after his freshman season, it is very possible that some NFL teams would have gambled and used a pick on him. While he may not have gone first round, there were plenty of aspects to Boucher and his style of play that would have made him a useful addition to a pro organization.

• Natural Talent: Despite never playing the game until age 31, Boucher demonstrated natural talent as a football player. He had an uncanny ability to see the field and swarm the ballcarrier. He had the ability to create pressure both up the middle and along the edges and was versatile enough to succeed as either an inside or outside linebacker.
• Freshman Season Performance: By mid-season, Boucher was averaging an unreal 11 sacks per game and was responsible for a number of victories. An innate playmaker, Boucher would have been coveted by numerous teams.
• Bourbon Bowl Performance: Not only did Bobby Boucher lead the Mud Dogs to the Bourbon Bowl, he showed up at halftime and helped them win. He came up clutch on the defensive side of the ball and even took some offensive snaps on the game winning drive.
• Character: Despite his anger issues which appeared (mostly) during the game, Boucher was a man of good character. He was a loving family man, who always put the team first. His personal philosophy was 'they need the water, and I likes to be the one that brings it to them.'
• Versatility: If his playing career didn’t work out after being drafted, he could always revert to his true passion of serving as the team’s waterboy. Intangibles such as this are rare in the draft.

Not Fit for the Field

Bobby Boucher played an exciting brand of football that drew fans from across the nation. His raw skill set may be unmatched. But many of Boucher’s flaws could have prevented him from being drafted if he decided to declare.

• Age: Bobby Boucher was 31 years old in his freshman year at SCLSU. By the time he graduated college and declared for the draft, he would’ve been 34. The aging curve hits the linebacker position very hard. Linebackers tend to peak in their late 20s and few play deep into their 30s after their skill begins to decline. Age would have scared off many, if not all, NFL teams.
• Off the Field Issues: Boucher’s anger issues may have raised a red flag to potential suitors. While at SCLSU, Boucher faced some trouble after assaulting a science professor. Many NFL GM’s expressed concerns over Boucher’s psychiatric profile and his medulla oblongata.
• NCAA Violations: In a scandal just before the Bourbon Bowl, Boucher faced potential NCAA sanctions for forging a fake high school transcript. While he remedied the mistake by completing a high school equivalency exam, the violations may have been too great a risk.
• Football IQ: A late bloomer into the football world, Boucher didn’t have the football knowledge necessary to play at a high level. He was often responsible for poor decisions and costly mistakes.
• 1998 Draft: The 1998 NFL Draft class was stacked and is widely regarded to this day as potentially the best draft class ever. Peyton Manning went first overall. Charles Woodson went fourth. Randy Moss was taken the first round too. Several linebackers were taken in the first, including Pro-Bowlers Takeo Spikes, Keith Brooking, and Greg Ellis. Bobby Boucher might have been another Hall of Fame caliber player to come out of the ’98 draft. Or he might have been overlooked. 

A Cup Runneth Over: The Waterboy’s Impact

​Few people in America had heard of South Central Louisiana State University before that fateful 1997-98 season. That is, until Bobby Boucher made Mud Dogs out of all of us. A simple man that followed his dreams, loved his mama, and found a deeper meaning to life, the waterboy inspired the best in everyone he met.
 
A college career fulfilled, but an NFL career never begun. All we’re left with is speculation. It’s a shame that we never got to see him in the draft. There is little doubt that he would have had one of the best draft day suits ever. Nonetheless, Bobby Boucher will be remembered as the top walk-on player in college history, if not one of the all-time college greats in general.