Watkins is Sweet 16th for NU

One week after visiting Northwestern, Keith Watkins is a Wildcat.

The three-star athlete from powerhouse Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller announced his commitment via Twitter Saturday evening by posting "Finally made my commitment to Northwestern Univeristy.!!!!! #GoCats"

Watkins visited Northwestern last weekend, along with two other Cincinnati-based Wildcat targets: 2013 cornerback Jaleel Hytchye of LaSalle High School, and junior teammate Derek Kief.

Watkings is being recruited as a cornerback by Northwestern. He becomes the 16th member of the Wildcats' Class of 2013 and its second corner, joining Matt Harris.

He chose Northwestern over offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota and West Virginia, among others.

Northwestern initially recruited Watkins as a running back in the Venric Mark mold, offering him in February. However, commitments from Warren Miles Long and Xavier Menifield addressed the Wildcats' needs at that position, so coaches began talking to the versatile 5-foot-11, 175-pounder about playing cornerback.

Watkins rushed for "about 700 yards" as a tailback for Moeller last season before spraining his ankle in the regular season finale and missing the team's first two playoff games. The Crusaders finished 9-4 and made it to the Elite Eight of the state playoffs, where they lost to archrival St. Xavier, 35-21.

An outstanding student, Watkins carries a 3.85 GPA at Moeller and said that academics was his top priority in selecting a school.

More to come from WildcatReport….