Xavier Worthy has quickly developed into a possible first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He transferred from Michigan in 2021, where he was expected to be a key contributor for the Wolverines. He is one of the most talented and exciting players in the nation, breaking several freshman records at Texas and earning All-American honors.
But why did Worthy leave Michigan? And what was his reasoning behind his decision?
Why Xavier Worthy Transferred From Michigan
Worthy signed with Michigan in December 2020 for the 2021 recruiting class. He was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports and the No. 1 player in California. He chose Michigan over other offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, and USC.
He was excited to play for head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who promised to use him as a dynamic playmaker.
However, Worthy never enrolled at Michigan due to academic issues preventing him from joining the team in January 2021. He had to wait until June 2021 to enroll, which meant he would miss spring practice and fall behind in learning the playbook and building chemistry with his teammates.
His mother told Max Olson of The Athletic that trust issues blossomed due to the admissions problems they experienced.
“For me, that didn’t fly,” Worthy’s mother told The Athletic. “I turned in all of his academic paperwork and applications in September. As far as I had been told, up until two weeks before, he was on track to enroll early. Nothing was missing, nothing short; they’d waived the SATs. It didn’t make sense. Something wasn’t right. What’s the problem, and why am I finding out about this now?”
“Michigan messed that up,” his mother continued. “The trust wasn’t there. For us, trust is so big in everything. We just never felt like we were getting the truth about what happened. It was just a lot of, ‘We’re sorry’ (from Michigan).”
He was also concerned about Michigan’s quarterback situation, as the Wolverines had a three-way competition between Cade McNamara, Joe Milton, and J.J. McCarthy.
Worthy requested a release from his national letter of intent with Michigan in April 2021 after receiving interest from other schools, especially Texas. He said he wanted to explore his options and find the best place for his professional development.
However, Worthy ultimately followed his former recruiter, Steve Sarkisian, to Texas, where he announced his transfer on April 24, 2021. He said he chose Texas because of his relationship with Sarkisian, who had recruited him to Alabama before becoming the head coach of the Longhorns. He also said he was impressed by Texas’ tradition, fan base, and location.
Worthy has already shown his impact on the field, leading Texas to an 8-4 record in 2021 and an Alamo Bowl victory over Washington in 2022. He broke several freshman records at Texas, such as receiving yards in a season (981), receiving touchdowns in a season (12), receiving yards in a game (261), receiving touchdowns in a game (3), receptions in a game (14), and receptions in a season (62).
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He also earned several honors, such as True Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus, 247Sports, and FWAA; Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year; First-team All-Big 12; Second-team All-American by Sporting News; Biletnikoff Award finalist; Maxwell Award semifinalist; Walter Camp Player of the Year semifinalist; Hornung Award finalist; Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award winner; Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP; Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week (twice); Paul Hornung Honor Roll (twice); and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Honor Roll.
