Ole Miss Four-Star Signees Shekai Mills-Knight, Winston Watkins Jr. Shine in Day 1 at Navy All-American Bowl
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — One hundred of the nation’s top playmakers have made their way to the Alamo City this week to prepare for this year’s Navy All-American Bowl — including two future four-star Ole Miss players, running back Shekai Mills-Knight and wide receiver Winston Watkins, Jr.
Practices began this morning with the West team working out in the colder weather, practicing outdoors at Trinity University, while the East team practiced in the Alamodome. They’ll reverse that on Wednesday.
As expected, this year’s rosters are filled with plenty of blue-chip talent. But unique to this year, the rosters now include not only outgoing seniors, but also rising seniors who will now have the opportunity to showcase their talents. It offers a great opportunity to evaluate not just the 2025 class, but the 2026 class as well.
Mills-Knight and Watkins Jr. will culminate their high school careers amidst the nation’s top prospects. Both are suiting up for the East team this week.
Shekai Mills-Knight
Mills-Knight was a force at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. all season long and heads into the Navy All American Bowl as the highest-graded 2025 running back on the roster. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder stands as the No. 7 running back in the 2025 class and the No. 2 overall player in Tennessee.
A Quebec, Canada native, Mills-Knight transferred to The Baylor school where he helped lead his team in 2024 to the Division II Class AAA championship where he and was a three-time league MVP.
In day one of the Navy All-American bowl prep, Mills-Knight did not disappoint. Ole Miss fans should get excited because he is a physical back who really can do it all. He will be heading into Oxford with the ability to make an immediate impact in a strong running back room.
Here is a look at Mills-Knight on day one from San Antonio.
Ole Miss RB signee Shekai Mills-Knight (No. 25) working on the read-out seam route in San Antonio at the @AABonNBC. #ComeToTheSip @sk_begreat
(📽️: @LeeAnnHerringRW) pic.twitter.com/GmTyyuoGmn— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 7, 2025
Ole Miss 4-star running back signee Shekai Mills-Knight talks after practice Tuesday at the @AABonNBC.
He tells our @LeeAnnHerringRW what he’s looking forward to in the All-American game as well as what he will bring to the RB room at Ole Miss. #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/yuHBUNrItl
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 7, 2025
Winston “Winnie” Watkins
Mills-Knight was joined by Winston “Winnie” Watkins, a 4-star wide receiver and future teammate at Ole Miss. Watkins, out of Venice High School in Florida is ranked as the No. 32 wide receiver and the No. 36 athlete to come out of Florida in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
Watkins will be a strong addition to the Rebels’ wide receiver room. In addition to making the Navy All-American Bowl team, the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder has also been named to the Max Preps National All-American team, selected for the Second Team as a wide receiver.
Watkins closed his senior campaign with a bang. At Venice this fall, he played multiple positions and ultimately helped lead his team to a Florida 7A state title. He notched 94 receptions for 1,151 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also tallied 22 carries for 110 yards and eight more TDs as a running back. The versatile Watkins even lined up on defense, where he recorded 24 tackles with 2 interceptions.
Watkins also saw a ton of reps in day one of practice today, showcasing his swiftness, great hands and ball control. He has big playmaking ability whenever he is the target.
Here’s Winnie Watkins at the @AABonNBC in San Antonio showing off those great hands. @winstonwatkins_
(📽️: @LeeAnnHerringRW, Rebel Walk) pic.twitter.com/Vn02Z8DenJ— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 7, 2025
Ole Miss 4-star WR signee @winstonwatkins_ getting in reps for the @AABonNBC East team at the Dome! pic.twitter.com/0IX5YEahMS
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 7, 2025
The Rebels are well-represented here in the Alamo City with two of their future electric playmakers turning heads. We look forward to Day 2 with Shekai and Winnie.
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all the latest from the Navy All-American Bowl.
Ole Miss signee and 4-star RB Shekai
Mills-Knight at the dome in San Antonio for @AABonNBC. We will have more with Mills-Knight! pic.twitter.com/JSD0oU8hSC— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) January 7, 2025
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Herring-Olvedo sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
