Hard to say. But depending on the weight and velocity of the shot I'd say certainly. If you could find 1 1/8 oz of 4's at about 1200 fps, I'd say yes. Haven't bought any 12 ga shells in a lot of years but at one time that was all I shot. I loaded my own with a Lee Load all, about $50. You might get some target loads and let him get used to the thing a while first. 

Like DF posted, its hard to say, but he should be able to. Most importand is gun fit.

If the gun is too light or the stock is too short, it will kick him too much. If the gun is too heavy or the stock is too long, he will have trouble swinging it.

An auto loader will kick less than doubles or pumps as some of the recoil or gas pressure is used to work the action.

And finally don't shoot heavy or magnum loads. 1 oz target loads of 7 1/2 shot will kill any bird in North America, but you won't want to shoot at extreme ranges.

Recoil is determined by the amount of powder and the total weight of the shot, not the size of the individual shot pellets.

All the advice is spot on. A heavy 20 load can kick harder than a 12 easily. Especially if the gun doesn't fit well.