Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins leads the team in catches and yards and relishes being a ‘go-to’ guy: ‘I take pride in that’
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss is officially halfway through the season, sitting at 5-1 (2-1 SEC) and ranked the No. 13 team in the country. After a disappointing loss to Alabama in week four, the Rebels bounced back by defeating LSU and Arkansas in back-to-back weeks, exhibiting grit and toughness in winning games they might not have won last season. Part of the success this season is a result of the steady play of wide receiver Jordan Watkins.
Watkins leads Ole Miss in receptions (36), yards (536), and average yards per game (89.3). He’s also recorded the longest catch of the year at 68 yards — and has returned seven punts for 86 yards and a touchdown.
He talked after practice Tuesday about his evolution as a player.
“I think I’ve taken tremendous steps from last year. Just me being a role player last year and then kind of taking that next step this year. Kind of being the go-to guy on third down and things like that is huge for me. I take pride in that.”
Jordan Watkins
Watkins was asked about the Rebels entering the bye week with two wins and what that means to the team.
“Those two wins were huge. LSU at home and then Arkansas at home. Those are two tough teams that play physical, who are really good on defense and offense. Arkansas was a huge win for us just because they always play hard, no matter who the opponent is, but in the past we’ve had problems with them. Just looking back at last year and the beating they were able to put on us last year, it’s just huge going into the bye week with the win. I remember last year we lost to LSU going into the bye week and it was kind of like a regrouping period for us. But this year, it’s more like we gotta just keep stacking and building from the previous wins we’ve already had.“
Jordan Watkins
The Arkansas game was a must-win for the Rebels as they continue to stay in the hunt for the SEC West. After the victory, Coach Kiffin revealed that quarterback Jaxson Dart played through what he described as a “lower-body injury” he suffered on the second play of the game.
Dart was limited to 153 yards and one touchdown after tossing for 389 yards with four touchdowns the week prior against LSU. Despite Jaxson’s diminished numbers, he made plays when he needed to and earned an even greater amount of respect from his teammates, specifically Watkins.
“…He didn’t look up to his full potential…He was a little bit banged up for the whole game, but Dart’s a tough guy, and he was able to play through it. That’s what you want in your quarterback, a guy who can go out there and put it all on the line for them no matter how they’re feeling or if they’re a little banged up. So it was cool to see him go out there and battle through that and during the bye week this week we can get him back healthy.”
Jordan Watkins on Jaxson Dart
While the injured players are taking the time to recover this bye week, Watkins explained that the rest of the team is still a full-go at practice, implementing several drills they used in fall camp to better themselves against each other.
“Today was kind of amped up a little bit, more like a fall camp schedule. We were going against the defense, good on good, ones on ones basically the whole practice. There weren’t any scout team periods, so just being able to get that work in, like I said, so that way you don’t go into next week feeling like crap is huge. And just being able to go against your defense and get them better and defense going against us and getting us better, it’s kind of like a jump start really.”
Jordan Watkins about Tuesday’s practice
As the Rebs take a well-deserved break this weekend, Jordan says that he will be spending his time watching Auburn vs LSU this Saturday, along with many other SEC matchups that could affect the future of Ole Miss.
“You know I’m going to watch the Auburn game just because that’s who we have coming up, and looking around the league really. Being in the position that we’re in, some of these games matter big-time for us to be able to go to Atlanta, so just keeping an eye around the league and definitely watching that Auburn game and seeing what they do schematically will be huge for us,” Watkins said.
Next Up:
Ole Miss travels to Auburn to play the Tigers on Saturday, October 21. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
If you’re wanting to get a look at the Tigers vs. the Tigers this weekend, tune in to Auburn vs. LSU this Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN.
Hotty Toddy!
