After helping lead the Longhorns to their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs, junior wide receiver Xavier Worthy declared for the 2024 NFL Draft less than 24 hours after losing to the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl and is considered a potential first-round pick.
The 6’1″, 172-pound speedster from Fresno, Calif., has been a consistent threat in the passing game for the past few years, carving out a name for himself with elusive speed, crisp route running, and home-run ability on any play. The wide receiver not only contributed on offense, but also on special teams, where he returned punts.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Worthy is a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 62 overall player and No. 8 wide receiver in the 2021 recruiting class. Worthy initially signed with Michigan out of Fresno (Calif.) Central East, but received a release from his National Letter of Intent four months later and immediately committed to new Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Worthy immediately became the Longhorns’ best wide receiver in 2021, with 62 receptions for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns, setting single-season school freshman records in each category, earning Worthy first-team All-Big 12 honors, Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors (the first Texas player to do so since Colt McCoy in 2006), and a spot on multiple Freshman All-American teams. Worthy’s elite speed and explosive abilities in the open field enabled him to produce 15 plays of 20 yards or more, seven of which were touchdowns.
As a sophomore, Worthy’s production dropped to 60 receptions for 760 yards and nine touchdowns as he dropped seven passes and had issues tracking the football, but he did begin to show promise as a punt returner in taking over that role with 15 punt returns for 146 yards.
Despite removing Texas references from his social media, remaining noncommittal about a return, and dropping three passes in the Alamo Bowl loss to Washington, sparking a social media firestorm, Worthy returned to the Forty Acres for offseason conditioning, putting an end to rumors of a possible departure.
Worthy rebounded as a junior with 67 catches for 883 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season, with three drops versus BYU acting as the one blemish on a season in which his receiving percentage greatly improved. On punt returns, Worthy emerged as a dangerous weapon with a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown in the win over the Cougars and a punt return touchdown called back via penalty in the win over the Cyclones that featured Worthy reaching 22.7 miles per hour, the highest speed of any player in college football this season. Worthy is averaging 16.1 yards per return this season, with 23 returns for 371 yards, providing value to his NFL draft status by demonstrating his impact.
Worthy started 39 games during the last three seasons. During that period, he was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2022, a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2021, the 2021 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, the 2021 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, and a Freshman All American.
He broke multiple Texas records and is presently third all-time in career touchdown receptions. Worthy caught 197 catches for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns in all. During his time in burnt orange, he also passed for a touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown. His contributions to the offensive could not be denied.