Kentucky lands commitment from highly-recruited TE in class of 2026
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Kentucky earned a commitment from 3-star tight end Lincoln Watkins, beefing up its depth significantly at the position for the 2026 season.
Kentucky Sports Radio reported the commitment on social media late Saturday afternoon. It was a double whammy of sorts for Kentucky, which beat out SEC rival Florida in the battle for 1 of the best tight ends in the class of 2026.
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Watkins is a Port Huron, Mich., product, so he’s a tight end phenom from Big Ten country who’s chosen to play his college ball in SEC country. He’s the 8th known commitment of this recruiting cycle for Kentucky.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, the 6-foot-4, 233-pound Watkins is the 468th-ranked player in the class of 2026. The composite rankings also have Watkins as the 22nd-rated tight end in the class and the 10th-ranked player from the state of Michigan.
Watkins looked to be down to Florida and Nebraska in his recruiting journey just a few weeks ago, but things changed quickly. Kentucky made Watkins an offer a few days later, and Watkins made an official visit to Lexington on June 17.
Four days after that, he gave the Wildcats a commitment and gave Kentucky football a huge recruiting victory for 2026.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
