The New Orleans Saints announced Sunday that they have signed wide receiver Jontre Kirklin . Here are five things to know about the Saints roster addition:
- Kirklin returns to his home state of Louisiana. Born in Lutcher, Kirklin attended Lutcher High School before heading to Baton Rouge to join the LSU Tigers.
- A prolific player in high school, Kirklin helped lead the Lutcher Bulldogs to repeat as class 3A state champs. He finished his career with 147 touchdowns, more than 7,500 yards passing and 3,000 rushing yards.
- Kirklin primarily played wide receiver and defensive back for the Tigers with one notable exception. In his senior season, Kirklin was tapped as the starting quarterback in the final game of the season in the Texas Bowl against Kansas State on Jan. 4, 2022. Despite fielding a heavily depleted roster, the Tigers fought in the 42-20 loss with Kirklin throwing 7-of-11 and throwing three touchdown passes as well as rushing for 61 yards despite having not played quarterback since high school. "In terms of the heart and effort that he gave, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Brad Davis, interim head coach of LSU at the time and current Tigers offensive line coach.
- Kirklin is coming off a stint in the XFL with the Houston Roughnecks where he racked up 253 receiving yards and four touchdowns before an injury in week five.
- As an undrafted free agent in 2022, Kirklin signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He hauled in two receiving touchdowns in preseason and spent time on the team's practice squad during the season.
Full coverage of the New Orleans Saints workouts during 2023 Training Camp presented by Rouses Markets on Saturday, August 5.