HATTIESBURG – As a freshman, Quez Watkins only caught 23 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns. Those aren’t his statistics for just a few games, but for the entire 2017 season.
In Watkins’ first game of his sophomore season, he’s well on his way to blowing past those numbers.
In fact, he was sophomore quarterback Jack Abraham’s favorite target in Southern Miss’ 55-7 win over Jackson State. The two connected on eight passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns, and Watkins caught all eight passes thrown his way. He even left the game due to an injury in-between his second and third touchdowns.
“Right now, I’m a little banged up,” Watkins said of his second-quarter injury. “I got my leg rolled up or whatever, but I’m still going to fight through.”
He returned to the field in the second half to grab his third touchdown of the night, and he was done after that.
Watkins credits all of the off-the-field work with Abraham for their success. The two made sure to build the chemistry before Saturday’s kickoff with the Tigers.
“Me and Jack have been at it since the summer. Since he got here,” Watkins said. “We’ve just been throwing routes and stuff. This week, we’ve just been staying after practice and making sure we get extra (reps) and making sure everything is on point.”
The only mistake Watkins made all night was on Jackson State’s first punt of the night. The ball bounced over his head after he touched it with a finger tip near his own end zone, then he recovered and tried to reverse field. His forward progress was stopped at his own 2-yard line to avoid the safety.
“I was nervous and it was coming hot, so I just tried to get it,” he said. “I knew I touched it, so I had to go pick it up.”
He promptly redeemed himself as a punt returner in the second quarter by taking an 81-yard punt return to the house. He almost misread the ball in the air, too, but back-paddled to catch it, then broke a few tackles before sprinting up the right sideline. That gave Southern Miss a 24-0 lead.
“I just saw everybody flowing to the left and I knew I had to cut back somewhere. There was a lane and I just hit it,” Watkins said. “(The coaches) were on my back, honestly (about the first punt return). I knew I had to do something to make up for it.
“I told (the coaches) I got them. I told them I was going to make up for it, and I just lived up to my word.”
In Abraham’s first Division I start, he led the Golden Eagles on three straight scoring drives. The first two were for touchdowns while the third was a 46-yard field goal by senior Parker Shaunfield. Both of the touchdown drives ended with an Abraham-to-Watkins connection, and both were two completely different drives.
The first was a quick, 2:44 possession that went for 57 yards on six plays. The second, a 98-yard drive that lasted 16 plays. Both had the same ending, though.
Even though the early part of the game had wet field conditions, it surprisingly played into a strength for Abraham.
“I had a good feeling tonight,” he said. “For some reason when it rains like that, it gets a good stick on the ball and I had a good grip on it. We’ve been working a lot this week and we got our timing down.
“When it adds a little stick, it’s weird, but it helps.”
Watkins’ second touchdown was impressive, reaching over a Jackson State defender in the back corner of the end zone for a 28-yard score, while the first one was an over-the-middle catch and run from 22 yards out.
On the first score, senior T-Rod Daniels grabbed Watkins while a Jackson State defender tried to tackle him inside the 5-yard line. Daniels helped Watkins cross the goal line, too.
“He said he didn’t want me to go down on the one, so he had to pull me in,” Watkins recalled. “I told him I wasn’t going down on the one. I can’t do that.”
Abraham began his Southern Miss career with a bang. He finished the night with 242 passing yards and four touchdowns on 21-for-27 passing, but most importantly, no turnovers.
Familiar face scores
Fighting through injuries the last few seasons, former Oak Grove standout Jordan Mitchell caught a second-quarter touchdown pass to put Southern Miss up 38-0. The score came on a play Mitchell and Southern Miss have repped “a million” times in practice, according to the redshirt junior.
“I’ll definitely say it’s been a long time coming,” Mitchell said. “It’s a matter of just hard work and just being with my teammates. I’ve been thankful to be blessed to be around some great receivers, so it’s just a matter of doing what I can to help the team and being a positive leader for the other people who are out there at the time.
“This is my first touchdown at the Rock, and it felt way better here than it did at Texas State three years ago.”
It was his second career touchdown reception, and the first since the 2015 season.
“Not really, but then again, after I look at all the fall camps, the practices and all that,” Mitchell said when asked if it’s felt like its been three years. “As long as we’re winning, I don’t even care. I’ll definitely give God all the glory for allowing me to even play football despite all my injuries and stuff.”
“It does sometimes feel like a long time ago, but I’m glad I got one tonight.”
Southern Miss is back in action Saturday at M.M. Roberts against Louisiana-Monroe. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
