Jordan Watkins details final TD for Ole Miss, relationship with Jaxson Dart

Ole Miss wide receiver Jordan Watkins hauled in a late touchdown (his second of the game) from Jaxson Dart against Duke in the Gator Bowl. He spoke with the media about the win for the Rebels Thursday night.

Q. (On the last pass of the game.)

JORDAN WATKINS: We’ll take the blame for that one. Me and Jaxson just got a good connection, and sometimes no matter what it is we’re going to compete, and whether it’s a minute 30 left on the clock or whether it’s the first play of the game, it doesn’t matter. We’re always trying to win, and we got a good look, and we checked the play.

JAXSON DART: We told each other if we’re going to be out there, we’re going to play football, and they pressed him.

Q. Both of you guys are elder statesmen on this team, and Lane referred to you guys as an old-school football team when across the landscape guys are opting out, y’all opted into this game, and you said multiple times it was a no-doubter. Why was it a no-doubter and what does it mean to ride out on top?

JORDAN WATKINS: I think we put so much time and effort in the off-season. Even just bringing in guys like Walter Nolan and Princely and spending all that time with those guys in the off-season, to go out and then not play in the last game, I think that would be almost a disappointment not to just the fan base but to us as players and how we are as people, as well.

I know like Jaxson, Jaxson is not a quitter, neither am I, and I think we have a lot of guys like that on the team who aren’t quitters. We’re a group of brothers, and I think you really seen that because having pretty much all of our starters out there tonight was huge, and I think that goes to show the culture, and well, and the brotherhood that we’ve built here at Ole Miss.

Q. Jordan, you’ve talked about the connection you have on the field. What is y’all’s relationship and what’s made it so special over these years?

JORDAN WATKINS: Man, it’s crazy that you really say that, him being a West Coast kid and then me being just a kid from Kentucky, who knew that we’d get along so well.

But I think just really the first time that we’ve really met each other, I think we really connected, and it’s just been going uphill since then. We hang out all the time outside of the facility, whether it’s going to eat lunch or whether it’s just playing pool or playing ping-pong, whatever it is. I can definitely call this guy one of my best friends and one of my brothers. Anything that I need from him, I know that he’ll pick up, and I’ll do the same for him.

It’s been awesome to be able to play the last three seasons with him at quarterback, and I think that me and his relationship is just a lifetime deal.

Q. You both are guys that transferred in and stayed multiple years. There’s several of you guys in the program. I know this season you didn’t quite get to where you wanted to go, but what do you think your legacy will be for this program moving forward?

JORDAN WATKINS: Yeah, piggybacking off of that, Oxford is just an unbelievable town, man. I think you really just do it for the fans. This fan base in the past has been let down several times, and then just being able to go out there and just wear Ole Miss across your chest just for them, for the little kids in the community, you go out to eat or go out to lunch or something like that and you’ve got little kids that’s there just smiling ear to ear just to be able to see you. They might not even — they might be too shy to come up to you and talk to you but they might be smiling ear to ear because they get to see your face. Like he said, you don’t get that everywhere.

I was a hometown hero at my last school, and I’d walk into the mall or something like that and people not even know who I am. It’s not like that in Oxford. It’s special.

Q. You guys have won 10 games the last two years. That’s only happened 10 times in Ole Miss history. What does that sort of history mean to you guys?

JORDAN WATKINS: Yeah, I think Coach Kiffin is a hell of a coach, and I think he does everything in his power to make Ole Miss a good football program, and he has, he’s done that. I think over the years to come, guys will want to come here just because, like you said, 10 wins in the last two seasons, I think that draws guys’ attention.

Like I said, he’s a great coach, and he has a way with players. I think Ole Miss will be on the rise for many, many years.

Q. Real quick, that 51-yard pass when you were fading to your left, Jaxson, Lane said that was a pretty special throw. From each of you guys’ vantage point, can you take us through that play?

JORDAN WATKINS: Yeah, with this guy you’ve always got to stay alive no matter what because he’s always looking down the field, and I know he runs the ball a lot, but he’s always looking downfield to his receivers, and he trusts his guys all the time. I think pretty much made eye contact, and I seen him pat the ball and I knew he was going to throw it, so I knew it was going to be an across-the-field field, so I just had to run and run under it and go get it.