Louisville transfer Jordan Watkins commits to Ole Miss

Following the end of the Governor’s Cup, Louisville sophomore wide receiver Jordan Watkins entered the transfer portal. The Louisville (Ky.) Butler product seemed to make a lot of sense for Kentucky.

However, the former mid three-star recruit and Kentucky commitment in the class of 2020 will be playing his college football somewhere else next season.

After taking an official visit to Oxford in December, Jordan Watkins decided to end his transfer recruitment on Tuesday night announcing a commitment to Ole Miss on Twitter. The 5-foot-11 wideout will be playing for Lane Kiffin’s offense in the SEC West.

Excited to start my new journey. Let’s get to work. #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/RT4lwP1NRa

— Jordan Watkins (@jordantwatkins) December 22, 2021

In 2021, Watkins was the top wide receiver for Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham. The local product led the Cards in receiving yards (544) on 55 targets over 12 games with a 56.4 percent success rate. Watkins also served as the team’s punt returner.

Wide receiver outlook at Kentucky

On Monday, offensive coordinator Liam Coen announced that seniors Josh Ali and Isaiah Epps will not play in the Citrus Bowl after being involved in a car accident. Both players are ok, but the game against Iowa will give Kentucky a chance to work towards the future.

Wan’Dale Robinson still has an NFL Draft decision to make, and Clevan Thomas Jr. could return for a super senior season, but the Wildcats are very young at wide receiver. Last week, the Wildcats signed four high school receivers. Those newcomers will join Dekel Crowdus, Chris Lewis, Chauncey Magwood, and Earnest Sanders as players in their sophomore years or below.

To help fill the void, Kentucky added Virginia Tech transfer Tayvion Robinson from the portal, and the former top-500 recruit will be on campus for spring football as he heads into his senior season. The Wildcats are looking at using 11-12 scholarships on the position as of right now.

As scholarship numbers get thin, Kentucky will eventually have to make a decision this offseason. If Wan’Dale Robinson leaves, does Kentucky want to add another veteran piece to help a young group?

That is something to monitor closely over the next few months.