Florida Football: Recruiting profile on Gators’ 2018 WR target Justin Watkins

While head coach Dan Mullen begins his tenure at Florida, recruiting will be a big emphasis on how he can build a solid foundation.

As the offseason approaches players have been reporting to their respected all-star games (US Army All-American and Under Armour games) to case their abilities.

While at the UA events, recruits have the opportunity to interact with each other. In result, it gives commits the ability to pitch reasons as to why their school is the right choice. Florida has some of its own commits at the UA festivities and they’ve been going after uncommitted recruits.

One of the recruits they’re currently after is four-star wide receiver Justin Watkins. He was originally committed to the Texas Longhorns back in February of 2017 and has been all over the place with his recruitment. However, with the early signing period passing Watkins still wasn’t sure where he wanted to go.

At  5-foot-11, 172 pounds, the Clermont, Fla., native is everything Florida needs at wide receiver. Taking a look at his film, Watkins shows many flashes of what a great receiver possesses. He shows quickness, crisp route running and the gritty toughness to fight for extra yards. Looking at his size, and given how Mullen runs his offense, Watkins will be lining up as the slot receiver.

As a result of his breakaway speed, he could also see time on special teams. In addition to looking at his film, it seems the coaches emphasized on Watkins extraordinary talents. During his senior season, Watkins finished with 1,290 yards on offense and special teams following up with 14 touchdowns. When on offense, Watkins came away with 615 rushing yards and 552 receiving yards. While on special teams, he contributed 92 yards on kickoffs and 31 yards while fielding punts.

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With the lack of play-making ability on offense, Watkins would be a great acquisition to the team. With National Signing Day approaching, Watkins has come out to say Florida and LSU are his top two remaining schools. He’s also said that he’ll be visiting Gainesville on Jan. 12. As of now, he’s trending towards Florida and if all things go as planned, I would assume he chooses Florida on signing day.