Five-Star Wide Receiver Winston Watkins Jr. Lists Ole Miss in Top 16 Schools

Winston Watkins Jr. released his top 16 schools on Thursday, and the Ole Miss Rebels made the cut.

Winston Watkins Jr. participates in the FBU Top Gun Showcase, Friday, July 9, 2021, at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples. Ndn 0709 Ja Top Gun Day 1 020 / Jon Austria/Naples Daily News USA TODAY

Lane Kiffin has proven to the country that an effective slot receiver can take over a game any given Saturday (think Elijah Moore and Jordan Watkins), and now, another enticing slot prospect has taken notice of that success in Oxford.

Winston Watkins Jr. is a 5-foot-10, 172-pound prospect out of Venice H.S. (Fla.), and he went to social media on the Fourth of July to announce his Top 16 schools, a list that included the Ole Miss Rebels.

Watkins' cousin is former fourth-overall pick Sammy Watkins, who terrorized the ACC at Clemson alongside his gun-slinging quarterback Tajh Boyd in the 2010s.

Watkins posses a different skill set than his cousin as he has the type of shiftiness that could make guys miss in a phone booth. He also has explosive speed that helped him stand out from a young age during his time at IMG Academy.

Watkins is listed as a five-Star on Rivals and a Top 40 player in Florida on 247. Ole Miss has done an outstanding job at identifying and developing wide receiver talent, whether out of the portal or through the high school ranks, and you know the Rebels would love to grab another young guy with the talent level Watkins has.

The Rebels have a loaded 2024 wide receiver room, and it looks to stay that way for a while with guys like Cayden Lee, Ayden Williams and Norrell White waiting in the wings. Could Watkins be that next elite wide receiver prospect to come to Oxford, continuing the trend of high-level athletes to join this elite position group?