Winston Watkins Jr. decommits from Colorado; 5-star WR was Deion Sanders' first commit

The day after taking a loss to Arizona — its sixth of the season — Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes football team lost a prized class of 2025 high school recruit.

First Baptist Academy (Florida) five-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. announced he's decommitted from Colorado on Sunday.

But Watkins Jr., the nation's No. 3 receiver, No. 7 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in Florida (per Rivals) in 2025, told Rivals he's not decommitting because of the Buffaloes' on-field struggles.

Instead, he wants to keep his options open and give more schools the chance to talk to him. He initially had more than 20 offers from the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Oregn and Texas A&M.

Here's what he told Rivals' Adam Gorney:

“I didn’t want to limit the opportunities I already have because when you’re committed some schools try to not talk to you. I have a lot of schools I want to make sure I’m still good with them because I don’t know if Prime will still be there when I get there. I want to make sure that I have all my opportunities. I’m still messing with Colorado super, super heavy but I just want to make sure I’m making the right decision. I have love for them and all that type of stuff but business is business.”

Watkins Jr. won't commit until National Signing Day in December of 2024, he told On3, signaling he's re-opening his recruitment without an imminent window to make a decision.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Watkins transferred from IMG Academy to First Baptist Academy in September. He has racked up more than 800 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior.

Watkins, the cousin of former Clemson and NFL wide receiver Sammy Watkins, was Sanders' first commit at Colorado. Watkins committed on Dec. 4, 2022, the day Sanders was hired.

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx