Xavier Worthy, Wolverine

Xavier Worthy, Wolverine


July 10, 2020
Fresno (CA) Central East WR Xavier Worthy (image via The Fresno Bee)

Fresno (CA) Central East wide receiver Xavier Worthy committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama and Oregon, among others.

Worthy is listed at 6’1″ and 170 lbs. As a junior in 2019, he caught 54 passes for 992 yards and 16 touchdowns. He ran a 10.55 in the 100 meters as a high school sophomore, and he ran a 21.41 in the 200 meters.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 84 grade, #22 WR, #126 overall
Rivals: 3-star WR, 5.6 grade
247 Sports: 4-star, 93 grade, #11 WR, #95 overall

Hit the jump for more on Worthy’s commitment.

Worthy always seemed like a long shot to end up at Michigan, as with most Californians. A lot of them show interest early, and then it becomes too much of a distance factor for them. That trend has continued in recent years with the likes of Devin Asiasi and Kekoa Crawford, who transferred to UCLA and Cal, respectively. But there is a contingent of California players currently on the team, including Jeffrey Persi, Giles Jackson, Zach Charbonnet, and Darion Green-Warren, so perhaps they can all draw more high-level prospects from out west. I had my doubts that Michigan could land Worthy after Alabama stepped in with an offer, but it looked like Oregon would be the biggest threat until recently. That relationship fell through, though, and Worthy postponed his commitment until July 10, ultimately picking the Wolverines.

Worthy is a speedster and has a chance to be the most explosive wide receiver at Michigan since the great Eddie McDoom.

Uh…

…okay, I whiffed on Eddie McDoom. It appears the main reason was a lack of hands/concentration, but Worthy could be what I thought McDoom would be. It’s tough to say if he suffers from drops based on highlight film, but I have not seen that raised as a concern. Worthy offers upside as a returner, he has some shiftiness, and his acceleration/burst are excellent. Michigan could get the ball to him in a variety of ways, including bubble routes, kick returns, punt returns, jet sweeps, vertical routes, etc. With his size he could be a little more of a vertical threat, and if he’s willing to work across the middle, he could be Ronnie Bell-but-fast.

On the negative side, Worthy is rail-thin like a lot of high school receivers, and if defenders are lucky enough to get hand on him, they can really slow him down to let the troops rally and gang tackle. That should be a point of emphasis in the weight room.

Overall, Worthy is an excellent prospect who could play from day one. I gave McDoom a TTB Rating of 89, and I’ll roll the dice again, counting on Worthy’s hands to be better.

The last Michigan signee from California was 2020 commit Darion Green-Warren. Michigan has not landed a prospect from Central East before. Michigan now has 20 commitments in the class of 2021, and Worthy joins Clayton (OH) Northmont’s Markus Allen (LINK) as the two receivers in the class so far.

TTB Rating: 89

11 comments

  1. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Jul 10, 2020 at 5:49 PM

    Love this pickup. Our QB, WR and – if Edwards commits – RB will have elite potential on Offense.

    Now about that Defense…

  2. Comments: 79
    Joined: 10/3/2015
    UM2013
    Jul 10, 2020 at 6:08 PM

    Couldn’t be more excited about this pickup. He should theoretically fit Gattis’s offense perfectly. 89 actually feels slightly conservative to me, although Michigan hasn’t proven an ability to use guys like this effectively. He feels like the type of player who would put up 80/1,400/15 at Oklahoma.

  3. Comments: 117
    Joined: 9/28/2015
    PapaBear
    Jul 10, 2020 at 8:19 PM

    Fastest football player ever at UM?

    Possibly?:

    Denard
    Dax Hill
    Peppers
    Wheatley
    Manningham

    • Comments: 79
      Joined: 10/3/2015
      UM2013
      Jul 10, 2020 at 9:37 PM

      I think it has to be Denard for now. Peppers and Wheatley had a unique combination of size and speed. Manningham was smooth and a crisp route runner, but not sure his straight line speed was in that same class.

      Not sure on Dax Hill. The testing speed was certainly there in high school.

    • Comments: 5
      Joined: 6/18/2020
      speed in space
      Jul 14, 2020 at 6:37 PM

      Woodson had to be faster than Manningham.

  4. Comments: 79
    Joined: 10/3/2015
    UM2013
    Jul 11, 2020 at 1:59 PM

    @ Magnus

    Based on your ranking system, are there any positions / position groups where you would literally never assign a player a rating of 100? Thinking back to your post on DPJ where you (correctly) mentioned that you didn’t think Michigan would utilize his abilities such that he would earn All-American accolades or anything similar.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jul 11, 2020 at 9:20 PM

      Hmmm… I think interior offensive line is one place. I had a chance when Cesar Ruiz committed in the 2017 class, and I gave him a 99. Interior linemen just aren’t valued a ton in the NFL Draft, and Ruiz wasn’t an All-American, either, despite being the first center drafted in 2020.

      Not that this matters much, but I probably wouldn’t give a 100 to kickers/punters, either, because I don’t know jack s*** about how to evaluate those positions based on film.

      I could come around on the receiver position based on how Michigan develops with Josh Gattis, but I also have this in the back of my mind: if Gattis is successful as OC, he’s going to go be a head coach. And then it will be interesting to see who replaces him, whether it’s another guy in the same mode or if it’s a guy who reverts to the Jim Harbaugh/Pep Hamilton model of offense.

  5. Comments: 313
    Joined: 8/17/2015
    JC
    Jul 12, 2020 at 9:20 PM

    I love me some track times. 11 seconds is fast. Anything less than that and you’re incredibly fast. 10.5 is stupid fast. I remember seeing a 10.5s or two for Peppers, but he ran a more consistent 10.6. I rememeber seeing a 10.28 for Denard and thinking that had to be wind assisted. Just googled him again, and there are articles saying 10.4 and 10.5s so who knows.

    Either way, 10.5 is incredibly fast, and he should be a difference maker even if hands or route running aren’t top notch.

    • Comments: 79
      Joined: 10/3/2015
      UM2013
      Jul 12, 2020 at 11:30 PM

      Yeah, Denard’s best was the 10.44, which is still outstanding.

      Fitz Toussaint was actually in the 10.7 range, which is quite fast, particularly at 200 lbs.

      • Comments: 313
        Joined: 8/17/2015
        JC
        Jul 13, 2020 at 12:11 AM

        10.28 stood out in my mind. Found this mgoblog post from years ago, although the link is no longer active.
        https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/denard-robinson-ran-1028

        Either way, 10.5 is insanely fast, and anything less than 11.0 is fast enough to play any skill position well.

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Jul 13, 2020 at 12:34 PM

    Anthony Carter, Desmond Howard, Mario Mannigham. These are all-time greats who were thin and fast. The offer list speaks to that level of talent.

    Hopefully we can move past the Crawford and McDoom references quickly.

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