Connetquot football standout Joseph Boutros, the Salve Regina University offensive lineman who tragically died during the week’s historic blizzard, is being dearly remembered as a light in many people’s lives on Long Island.
“You can ask anyone at Connetquot who taught him or coached him; he was just a great human,” Boutros’ former coach, Mike Konsevitch, told The Post.
“Just a happy-go-lucky person,” he added of the 2022 graduate.
Boutros accidentally died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside his car, unaware of its clogged exhaust pipes, while charging his phone Monday.
The 21-year-old was in the vehicle because snow knocked out power at his home near the Newport, R.I., university, where an estimated 34 inches fell.
He was the type of player any coach was lucky to have, according to Konsevitch, who praised the sweat equity Boutros put into improving day by day.
“His junior year of high school, he struggled with football,” said Konsevitch, adding, “He may not have been the best player on the football field, but he was the best teammate.”
“Then he was staying in the weight room, working hard. His senior year, he became a better football player. He always worked hard at his craft.”
Boutros was also on the Nassau Community College team after playing for the Thunderbirds before taking his skills to Salve Regina.
Excited to play with his close friend from high school on the Seahawks, wide receiver Alan Rodrigues, Boutros also shone academically.
He made the fall 2025 dean’s list with a GPA of 3.94 in pursuit of a criminology degree.
When he took a break from succeeding on and off the field, it was always to pay it forward to his former T-Bird program, according to Boutros’ former coach.
“I would see him every summer when he would come back home,” Konsevitch said.
“When we were practicing in the offseason, anytime he was home on a weekend we had a game, he would be on my sideline, watching, cheering us on.”
Boutros ended up as a mentor to many current athletes at the Suffolk County high school.
“He definitely would talk to some kids, be helpful, give them advice that maybe he learned along the way playing college football,” said Konsevitch.
“He was a positive role model. He was always positive … always smiling.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
