Jordan Watkins' Confidence On The Rise Following Impressive Week 1 Performance
When Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked who he was looking for to have a breakout season, his answer was senior wide receiver Jordan Watkins. This answer came into fruition on Saturday when Watkins tallied 180 all-purpose yards, including six receptions and a 70-yard punt return score in the third quarter.
Following Watkins' contribution in a demanding 73-7 Rebels victory, he was named the SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
Jordan Watkins (11) hauled in six receptions for 111 yards in Ole Miss' dominating win over Mercer in Week 1.
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Last season, Watkins found himself as the third receiver option behind former Rebel standouts Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath.
"Just with my role being what it was last year, kind of a third receiver guy, being the third option, I felt like once the game got flowing, it sunk into me a little bit," Watkins said of Saturday's game.
In addition to Watkins' special day, he was able to witness fellow receiver Tre Harris set a new school record with four touchdown receptions in a game.
"It's awesome," Watkins said. "It's history. It's one of those things I like I was a part of that. Couldn't have come to a better guy than Tre."
Recently-named starting quarterback Jaxson Dart had no issue connecting with Watkins and Harris, going 18-of-23 passing for 334 yards with four touchdowns. Twelve catches and 244 of those yards were accounted for by the wide receiver duo.
"I think Dart's grown tremendously over the offseason and that first game, in the first half, was just a testimony to that really," Watkins said. "I think he played a really, really good game, complete game, and I think there's only room for improvement throughout the whole season."
The Ole Miss offense will look to continue its success this Saturday against Tulane at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
