Ole Miss wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. has committed to LSU football. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Watkins was the 25th-ranked receiver in the 2026 transfer portal class, per On3Sports. He had a productive season for the Rebels in 2025, ranking seventh on the team in receptions, sixth in yards, and sixth in touchdowns, per Pro Football Focus.
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Watkins is a significant commitment for LSU, marking the Tigers’ eighth receiver signing in this year’s portal class. He holds the fourth-highest On3 transfer rating of the group, behind Jayce Brown, Eugene Wilson III, and Tre Brown.
What Watkins has that the other three don’t, however, is three seasons of eligibility. Tre Brown has two more seasons, but depending on how you value high school recruiting rankings, Watkins’ ceiling is far higher. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, with top-notch speed that he used to put together a successful high school track career.
That speed has shown on the field at times as well, with a perfect example coming in the Rebels’ outing against Oklahoma earlier this season:
He’s still young, so there’s a chance Watkins doesn’t have a feature role early on with LSU. As time goes on, though, don’t be surprised to see him emerge as one of the Tigers’ premier playmakers.
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This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football takes talented transfer portal receiver from Ole Miss
