In the battle for the fifth receiver spot, Justin Watson needed to stand out. Being 6-foot-3, 216 pounds helps. But the Penn rookie needed a play to separate himself from the pack.

He got it at the end of the first half in Saturday's 30-14 win at Tennessee.

Watson knew when he got into the huddle and heard the play call that something big might happen.

"It was third down and 19 seconds on the clock, so I knew we had to either get in the end zone or get out of bounds," Watson said. "I got into the huddle and he called go routes on the outside, so I knew with my route just to be alive, just to be looking.

"We got a cloud look, and it's a tough throw for any quarterback putting it in the hole in Cover 2, but it was an unbelievable ball. I saw it in the air and just went up and tried to make a play on it."

The 21-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jameis Winston, with 13 seconds remaining in the half was a perfect throw and catch that gave the Bucs a 20-7 lead.

"It was awesome," Watson said. "You're excited if you catch a touchdown in practice or preseason or anywhere. But yeah, it was cool to see the response, a lot of people reaching out on social media, a lot of my Penn family really excited to see one of their guys succeeding in the NFL."

Watson has an uphill battle to make the final roster. He is competing with some pretty good receivers for a fifth or sixth spot, including Bobo Wilson and Freddie Martino. Both were on the Bucs roster last season.

Watson said he has benefited from advice from Bucs veteran receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, especially Evans, who has a similar body type.

"The number of snaps those guys have taken in NFL games is unbelievable, so they've seen just about everything," Watson said. "Both of them have been in this offense before. In the film room, they've done a great job coaching us rookies up. Mike and I, I think, are pretty similar receivers in that we like to use our size, and he's really helped me out trying to play bigger."

Watson said his first NFL touchdown was better than he had imagined.

"It's hard to ever imagine yourself on an NFL stage catching a touchdown, but it was everything you could ask for," Watson said. "Celebrating with your teammates, guys excited for you. Running the two-minute drill and scoring at the end of it. It doesn't get better than that."