WR Watkins decommits from Buffs' 2025 class

Deion Sanders and Colorado‘s 2025 class took a hit Sunday with wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr.‘s decision to decommit.

Watkins, No. 87 in the 2025 ESPN 300, was the first player to commit to Sanders at Colorado, announcing his pledge to the program on Dec. 4, 2022 — the day Sanders was hired.

Michigan, Oregon, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas are among the 22 offers he has.

Watkins, the cousin of former Clemson and NFL wide receiver Sammy Watkins, spent his sophomore year and the beginning of his junior season at IMG Academy (Florida) before transferring to First Baptist Academy (Florida). Through five games this season, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Watkins caught 38 passes for 804 yards and nine touchdowns for the Lions.

His decommitment leaves Houston County High School (Georgia) quarterback Antwann Hill Jr. (No. 46 overall in 2025) as the only ESPN 300 prospect in Colorado’s 2025 class.

Wide receiver/athlete Aaron Butler (No. 70 overall in 2024) and defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain (No. 230) highlight a 2024 recruiting class for the Buffaloes that is currently unranked.

After Sanders’ arrival in Boulder, he was able to quickly piece together a top-25 class for 2023 (No. 23 overall), headlined by getting his son, Shedeur Sanders, and cornerback Travis Hunter to come with him from Jackson State and flipping cornerback Cormani McClain (No. 14 overall) from Miami and running back Dylan Edwards (No. 140) from Notre Dame.

Shedeur Sanders is fifth in the FBS with 3,144 passing yards. His 26 touchdown passes place him in a four-way tie for fifth in the country for an offense scoring 30.7 points per game (seventh in the Pac-12) and averaging 384.6 yards per game (ninth in Pac-12).

The Buffaloes, who took the college football world by storm by upsetting reigning national runner-up TCU on the road in the season opener, have struggled in recent weeks. Losing 34-31 to Arizona at the buzzer Saturday in their home finale marked their fourth straight loss.

Colorado (4-6, 1-6 Pac-12) ends the season with games at Washington State and at Utah.