Of all the draft decisions, the one made by Southern Miss wide receiver Quez Watkins would probably qualify as one of the more head-scratching.
On Twitter, Watkins announced Saturday evening that he has decided to enter the 2020 NFL Draft. As our pals over at Rotoworld noted, Watkins is believed to be a Day 3 prospect. And that might even be generous, at least at the moment.
”As an athlete, I have spent the majority of my life training hard for this very moment,” Watkins wrote. “I love the game of football, played hard and gained the respect of my fellow teammates.”
In late January, it was reported that Watkins had been forced to withdraw from Southern Miss and enroll at a junior college in an effort to get his academic house in order. In late June, it was confirmed that Watkins was back on the USM campus and enrolled in classes.
The news regarding the wide receiver was even more positive a month later as head coach Jay Hopson confirmed that Watkins was expected to join the rest of his teammates for the start of summer camp. While that indeed happened, the pause button was hit on the feel-good storyline as Watkins was suspended for the first two games of the 2019 season.
After returning from suspension, the 6-2, 190-pound Watkins caught 64 passes for 1,178 yards and six touchdowns. He was tops on the team in both yards and touchdowns.
As a redshirt sophomore the season before, Watkins led the Golden Eagles in receptions (72), receiving yards (889) and receiving touchdowns (nine). Watkins’ nine scores accounted for nearly half of the team’s 19 touchdowns through the air that season.