By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU wide receiver Winston Watkins was only 12 when the Tigers had the best wide receiver tandem in the nation in Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson and won the national championship at 15-0 with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Joe Burrow.
Chase finished No. 1 in the country with 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns that season, while Jefferson came in at No. 3 with 1,540 yards and 18 TDs. Chase became the fifth pick of the 2021 NFL Draft by Cincinnati, which took Burrow with the first overall pick. And Jefferson went as the 22nd pick of the first round in 2020 to Minnesota.
They remain two of the best in the NFL as Chase finished fourth in the league last season with 1,412 yards, and Jefferson was 12 with 1,048.
“I want to continue growing and having elite traits,” said Watkins, who will be a sophomore this season after catching 26 passes for 373 yards and a touchdown as a reserve on Ole Miss’ high-powered offense last year.
“Because, once I step into that elite box, then nobody can compete with me,” Watkins said. “And I’m just going to dominate, and we’re going to have more of those Ja’Marr Chases and Justin Jeffersons of the world at LSU.”
That is big talk, but that is what Watkins sees happening under new coach Lane Kiffin at LSU. Kiffin’s 2025-26 offense at Ole Miss finished No. 3 in the nation with 313.3 yards a game as the Rebels finished 13-2 overall after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Kiffin brought his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr.,, with him from Ole Miss along with his pass game coordinator/wide receivers coach there in George McDonald as well as Rebels’ running backs coach Kevin Smith, former Ole Miss tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox and inside receivers coach Sawyer Jordan.
“It’s certainly weird.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) December 30, 2025
-Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. on moonlighting – literally – as LSU’s offensive coordinator, while trying to beat Georgia in the playoffs @SugarBowlNola for Ole Miss.https://t.co/sozTKoUmtI
“The offensive staff is really good,” Watkins said. “They’re like a group of geniuses to me. All of them, they showed me the offense last year, and I was like, ‘I want to be a part of it.'”
So, Watkins signed with Ole Miss a year ago as the No. 31 wide receiver in the nation from Venice High in the Fort Myers, Florida, area over such programs as Indiana, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Colorado and Texas A&M.
And when Kiffin and company went west to LSU, Watkins soon followed.
“Being recruited out of high school, coach Kiffin was already like a big part of the reason why I wanted to go to Ole Miss,” he said. “Then as he got the opportunity to go to LSU, and he told me was going to go there, I said I was going to take my talents there, too. I felt like I put my faith in him coming out of high school, so going to LSU was a good move for me.”
LSU spring scrimmage report from Saturday.https://t.co/SX46k0551G
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 18, 2026
Kiffin signed nine receivers in all from the portal, but it has been Watkins shining the most through spring drills that end on Saturday with a closed scrimmage. He caught nine passes for 164 yards last Saturday in a scrimmage with a 58-yard touchdown across the middle.
“I would say the offense is very similar to Ole Miss last year,” said Watkins, who has that knowledge advantage over the other receivers. “I feel like I got the offense. Now, I’m getting the advanced stuff. So, now I’m learning defenses. I’m learning how to play like a quarterback. I’m reading the defenses like a quarterback. I’m playing faster, understanding the game. I’m learning how to complete the assignments at a higher level.”
And Kiffin has noticed.
“That really helps,” Kiffin said of Watkins’ prior knowledge of the offense. “Now, hopefully, the other guys will catch up to that, because Winnie has a head start.”
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