Jordan Watkins has firsthand experience with the transfer portal and the 'weird' vibe it can create

Wednesday is the beginning of the early National Signing Day period and Ole Miss has one eye there while keeping another eye squarely on the transfer portal.

This is partly due to the strategy that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin used ahead of this past season to rebuild and retool his roster. The strategy paid off after the Rebels were the guinea pig of this experiment, in a way.

One player who benefited from that experience by Kiffin is current Ole Miss receiver Jordan Watkins who is wrapping up his first season in Oxford.

Watkins came to Ole Miss via the portal by way of Louisville last offseason. In fact, Watkins was one of the first transfer commitments Kiffin received that served as the foundation for one of the top transfer classes in the nation.

Once the Cardinals finished up its regular season in a game against Kentucky Watkins headed for the portal and found a new home roughly a month later.

Now, Watkins is firmly entrenched with his team but is watching teammates enter the portal and taking visits all while still on Ole Miss’ roster and practicing for the Texas Bowl.

“I definitely think it’s a little weird because it’s new to all of us,” Watkins said. “I was in that same spot last year and it was kind of weird because you know you’re not going to be with those guys next season. It’s kind of like, I wouldn’t say a love-hate relationship, but you’re sad that you’re kind of leaving. But at the same time it’s a business decision just like anywhere else. Just like you would go to the NFL. It’s a business decision and we all understand that and those guys are definitely doing what’s best for them.”

Ole Miss went through this last season with linebacker MoMo Sanogo among the players who took official visits while the rest of the team prepared for the Sugar Bowl.

This past weekend current Ole Miss quarterback Luke Altmyer reportedly visited Illinois as he entered the portal last month.

Watkins is seeing the younger players taking full advantage of the opportunities in practice due to the portal.

Ole Miss wraps up its bowl practices in Oxford this week before flying to Houston on Christmas Day. Over the last two weeks younger players are getting the opportunity to get extra reps due to the ability to have the extra practice time due to playing in a bowl game.

The wide receivers room is definitely one position group that is a prime example. With Jonathan Mingo expected to head for the NFL and Malik Heath out of eligibility it is clearing up some room on the depth chart.

Kiffin and his staff are looking in the portal for some veteran receivers but Ole Miss does not have a completely empty room. Redshirt freshman JJ Henry, sophomore Bralon Brown are among some of the underclassmen that have the chance to step up.

Watkins is expected to be the veteran in the room along with Jaylon Robinson, who still has his COVID year of eligibility remaining. Neither have hinted at wanting to leave after the bowl game, but neither have publicly ruled anything out, yet.

“They’ve definitely taken advantage of it,” Watkins said. “A lot of them are coming back getting a lot more work. Taking a lot more reps and I think that’s huge. You know, we’re obviously going to be losing guys to the transfer portal, to the NFL and whatnot. It’s definitely good for those young guys to be able to step up and kind of feel what it’s like to move around a little bit and learn what’s going on.”

Watch Watkins’ full post-practice interview from Tuesday below. Video provided by Ole Miss Sports Production.