Syracuse football just made a list cut for 5-star WR; an SEC suitor has analyst buzz

Syracuse football, on July 4, made the top 16 of 2025 five-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. from Florida, a top-20 national prospect in the rising high school senior class, per Rivals.com.

Now, as I noted in another recent column, the Orange is likely a long shot to prevail for the 5-foot-10, 172-pound Watkins, given his impressive list of contenders still in the running.

Watkins, in late March, did go on an unofficial visit to the Hill. From my perspective, if the 'Cuse hopes to win out in this recruiting battle, Syracuse football coaches must get Watkins back to Central New York for an official visit at some point.

Speaking of official visits, since late May of this year, Watkins has traveled to South Carolina, Ole Miss and Indiana on official visits, according to recruiting services and his X page. One of those three schools, currently, is receiving some analyst buzz for Watkins.

Syracuse football does have verbal pledges from several 2025 three-star wide receivers.

Regarding Watkins' recruitment, under his bio on the 247Sports Web site, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Indiana have a "warm" interest level noted, which is logical, because he's officially visited all three of those teams.

On July 2, On3 senior recruiting analyst Zach Berry logged a prediction for Ole Miss in Watkins' recruiting process.

Not too long ago, Rivals.com and Yahoo Sports national recruiting director Adam Gorney published a piece where he projected where various top-flight prospects would ultimately land. He, too, forecasted Watkins to Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss.

In late April, Rivals.com and Yahoo Sports national analyst John Garcia Jr. also put in a prediction in the direction of Ole Miss for Watkins, who will spend his senior year at Venice High School in Venice, Fla.

Rivals.com, by the way, is the most bullish on Watkins in the 2025 rankings, putting him at No. 17 nationwide and No. 2 at wide receiver. His top 16 consists of Syracuse football, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Indiana, Texas, Ohio State, Colorado, Penn State, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Throughout his recruitment, per 247Sports, Watkins has tallied more than 30 offers. He picked up a 'Cuse scholarship offer in late December of last year. Watkins had previously given verbal commitments to Texas A&M and then Colorado.

In late June, word broke that Watkins would compete in the prestigious 2025 Polynesian Bowl, which will take place on January 17 of next year in Honolulu.

In an interview with 247Sports national analyst Brian Dohn where Watkins spoke about playing in the Polynesian Bowl, he said regarding his recruitment and a commitment announcement, "Everything is in the air right now. I don't know when I am going to do it. I wanted it to be signing day, but I don't know. It's getting closer and closer to the time I am going to decide."

While it would prove huge (and perhaps a little surprising) if Watkins were to select Syracuse football, the Orange does have verbal pledges from several three-star wide receivers in the 2025 class.

I recently took a look at the team's dozen verbal commitments in 2025 since the beginning of June. Among them, on June 29, three-star wide receiver/athlete Gabe Daniels of the Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Ga., picked the 'Cuse over Kansas.