*** This week, I had my first chance to see Rivals100 Fresno (Calif.) Central wide receiver and Michigan commit Xavier Worthy. Nobody has really had an opportunity to evaluate Worthy live, so I was super excited to be out there. Upon first glance at Worthy, he looks more like a sprinter. He has extremely long legs and a smaller torso. He glides when he runs, and his overall speed is outrageous. The track speed transitions over to the football field, and you can see it on tape, and I witnessed it during the workout.
*** Worthy has long speed but what impressed me the most about him was his burst, acceleration and quickness in short space. When going through ladder and footwork drills, Worthy was downright explosive. A couple of my videos look like they're sped up because he's moving so fast and loses no speed when he changes direction. The only other recruit that I've covered that can stop suddenly and accelerate that fast is Jaylen Waddle at Alabama. By the way, Waddle was recruited by Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis during his time with the tide, so it makes sense that Gattis prioritized Worthy.
*** On that note, what a great evaluation by Gattis and the Michigan staff. Worthy went from complete unknown to elite prospect overnight. And Worthy definitely showed elite traits at the workout. But what's more important than rankings rise is the fit. Worthy, like the aforementioned Waddle, is built for Gattis' speed in space offense. Worthy, as a January enrollee, should get on the field extremely early at Michigan. He will kill it in the slot, but he can also line up wide and return kicks/punts. I had Worthy run a couple of 'Over' and 'Shake' routes (JJ McCarthy loves making that throw), and he was excellent on those. Like I said, he's perfect for the offense.
*** Worthy actually played his junior season at 145 pounds but is now up to 160 pounds. He's still a little skinny in his upper half, but I'm not really worried about it. Worthy should be able to add a good 15 pounds pounds once he gets into Michigan's strength and conditioning program. The weight think is a little overblown. The biggest thing for him is simply adding strength and making sure to continue to progress as a natural pass catcher.
*** I love Worthy's attitude. I asked him is he was excited about the rankings bump, and his response was 'It's cool, but not really.' Worthy has a chip on his shoulder after not getting much exposure out of Fresno, but he keeps his mind on his work and his craft as opposed to the accolades. His mother tried to boast a little bit about Worthy being only one of two underclassmen at the California state track meet last year. Worthy interrupted her and said 'It doesn't matter because I didn't win.' He'll be a great program fit at Michigan.
*** Worthy has long speed but what impressed me the most about him was his burst, acceleration and quickness in short space. When going through ladder and footwork drills, Worthy was downright explosive. A couple of my videos look like they're sped up because he's moving so fast and loses no speed when he changes direction. The only other recruit that I've covered that can stop suddenly and accelerate that fast is Jaylen Waddle at Alabama. By the way, Waddle was recruited by Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis during his time with the tide, so it makes sense that Gattis prioritized Worthy.
*** On that note, what a great evaluation by Gattis and the Michigan staff. Worthy went from complete unknown to elite prospect overnight. And Worthy definitely showed elite traits at the workout. But what's more important than rankings rise is the fit. Worthy, like the aforementioned Waddle, is built for Gattis' speed in space offense. Worthy, as a January enrollee, should get on the field extremely early at Michigan. He will kill it in the slot, but he can also line up wide and return kicks/punts. I had Worthy run a couple of 'Over' and 'Shake' routes (JJ McCarthy loves making that throw), and he was excellent on those. Like I said, he's perfect for the offense.
*** Worthy actually played his junior season at 145 pounds but is now up to 160 pounds. He's still a little skinny in his upper half, but I'm not really worried about it. Worthy should be able to add a good 15 pounds pounds once he gets into Michigan's strength and conditioning program. The weight think is a little overblown. The biggest thing for him is simply adding strength and making sure to continue to progress as a natural pass catcher.
*** I love Worthy's attitude. I asked him is he was excited about the rankings bump, and his response was 'It's cool, but not really.' Worthy has a chip on his shoulder after not getting much exposure out of Fresno, but he keeps his mind on his work and his craft as opposed to the accolades. His mother tried to boast a little bit about Worthy being only one of two underclassmen at the California state track meet last year. Worthy interrupted her and said 'It doesn't matter because I didn't win.' He'll be a great program fit at Michigan.
