High School

Winston Watkins Jr. decommits from Colorado; 5-star WR was Deion Sanders' first commit

5-star from First Baptist Academy (Florida) re-opens recruitment

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

The day after taking a loss to Arizona — its sixth of the season — Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes football team lost a prized class of 2025 high school recruit.

First Baptist Academy (Florida) five-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. announced he's decommitted from Colorado on Sunday.

But Watkins Jr., the nation's No. 3 receiver, No. 7 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in Florida (per Rivals) in 2025, told Rivals he's not decommitting because of the Buffaloes' on-field struggles.

Instead, he wants to keep his options open and give more schools the chance to talk to him. He initially had more than 20 offers from the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Oregn and Texas A&M.

Here's what he told Rivals' Adam Gorney:

“I didn’t want to limit the opportunities I already have because when you’re committed some schools try to not talk to you. I have a lot of schools I want to make sure I’m still good with them because I don’t know if Prime will still be there when I get there. I want to make sure that I have all my opportunities. I’m still messing with Colorado super, super heavy but I just want to make sure I’m making the right decision. I have love for them and all that type of stuff but business is business.”

Watkins Jr. won't commit until National Signing Day in December of 2024, he told On3, signaling he's re-opening his recruitment without an imminent window to make a decision.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Watkins transferred from IMG Academy to First Baptist Academy in September. He has racked up more than 800 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior.

Watkins, the cousin of former Clemson and NFL wide receiver Sammy Watkins, was Sanders' first commit at Colorado. Watkins committed on Dec. 4, 2022, the day Sanders was hired.

Winston Watkins Jr.
Winston Watkins Jr. transferred from IMG Academy to First Baptist Academy earlier this season / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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