Xavier Worthy to Texas
Harbaugh should go after U of M admissions.
Are we sure this was an U of M admissions issue? Everyone immediately assumed that after he tweeted "due to circumstances beyond my control" it was an admissions issue (coupled with not being able to sign early) but he clarified after that tweet "that grades was not the issue". Also, Rivals reported that the issue with EE was a Michigan error and that Worthy arrived on campus in late January.
If there was issues wouldn't it be U of M admissions that releases him from the LOI (e.g. Demar Dorsey) and not the players' request. Texas would also have similar admissions to Michigan.
Seems like this has more to do with his two closest friends on the team are gone via the portal (which would be also be circumstances beyond his control) and he chose a school that he has familiarity with a coach that had recruited him.
edit: I see that he liked a tweet talking about admissions so it may have been a non GPA issue or he may have been also unhappy with them not letting him sign early.
It's been said for MONTHS that this was an admissions issue. He was denied early entry despite (allegedly) having everything in order from his side.
Of course, we will never know for sure.
April 24th, 2021 at 10:15 PM ^
I believe there are minimum testing requirements
Worthy could have enrolled early. He chose not to. The initial mistake was with his high school, UofM bent over backwards to get him enrolled early.
The kid did not want to play for Harbaugh. Michigan had every opportunity to close this kid and get him on campus, every person who tried, failed. Good luck to him. He was never coming here.
Where is this info coming from?
A West Bloomfield Varsity assistant football coach. A Personal friend and close friend with Bellamy.
Worthy was accepted and offered early enrollment. He declined.
I’m sure Sam Webb or whoever else got the initial story from Worthy’s camp and went with it. Michigan moved on from him weeks ago. His leaving is only a surprise to us fans.
April 24th, 2021 at 10:07 PM ^
Thank you.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out he didn't want to be here because 'speed in space' never happened like it was billed to happen.
April 24th, 2021 at 11:00 PM ^
I suppose that's possible. But if that's the reason don't you think he would've known that when he signed in December?
April 25th, 2021 at 12:48 AM ^
Possibly. But Giles Jackson leaving ensured it.
Im wondering if Matt Weiss was brought in not just to coach QBs, but to bring change to the offense, just like Ryan Osborn was brought in not to be just an analyst, but to coach DEs, while Shaun Nua was moved to coaching only interior defensive line. If Weiss was brought in for that, that could be why both Jackson and Worthy left.
I would be no surprise that Jim Harbaugh wanted to have change in the offense.
April 25th, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
I'm hoping he brought Weiss in for a more analytics-based approach.
At $600k a year he better do more than analytics.
Analytics in addition to QB coach.
With how well he did in the NFL at coaching both QBs and RBs I'm pretty sure he took over some of Josh Gattis' duties just like Ryan Osborn took over some of Shaun Nua's duties.
According to redshirt junior defensive end Taylor Upshaw, his position group is working more with Osborn than with Nua at this juncture.
“The reality is Nua is more like a D-tackles coach right now,” Upshaw said. “Coach Osborn is really our main guy. But I’m happy (Nua) is back and I’m happy with the defensive coordinator and my coach – the younger guy. They understand what it’s like being in the position we’re in. It’s a blessing.”
With a switch to a more multiple front, that means that defensive ends aren’t necessarily going to be in the same spot as they had been under former defensive coordinator Don Brown, who had deployed a base 4-3 (or 4-2-5, depending on how you look at the VIPER position). With the expectation that the 3-4 will be the primary base defense, that means one of the defensive end positions would become more of a stand-up position, which appears to be the case.
Upshaw says that he’s among those who are standing up most of the time, as he highlights his role and those who are also working in the position group under new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
“The people we have in that room: Aidan, myself, David Ojabo, Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, Noah Knight and – I think I got all of them. Those are the guys in our room, including myself. We call ourselves ‘The Reapers,'” Upshaw said. “This is a really important defense. The position we play allows us to make a lot of plays. I think it’s gonna come down to a lot of games. We’re gonna have to affect the game a lot.”
Cool that you're friends with this guy who has insider information, but you probably shouldn't out your sources so specifically or the info will dry up or your friend could get blowback. Keep the info coming.
I was given permission.
Thank you for the inside scoop. So that settles that. At least Worthy won't be playing for Ohio State or some other B1G contender.
Nice to see some real information on the matter and not speculation.
April 25th, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^
OSU is the only Big Ten Contender.
I'm not saying your WB coach friend is lying - more like regurgitating inside Schembechler Hall spin he was fed.
A very simple recap of the timeline will disprove that Worthy "didn't want to play for Harbaugh":
He signed a LOI in mid-December;
His family posted Michigan-themed Christmas pics on social media, led by Mama Flash beating the drum for Michigan repeatedly;
EE began arriving just after the Holidays, ~2 weeks later;
Worthy tweeted he would not be able to EE, but that we'd still see him in AA;
He tweeted again he'd be joining the team ASAP, as rumors began to swirl that a) Admissions had rejected some credential of his, denying EE & that b) he was looking around.
Finally, after Giles surprisingly decided to transfer, the b) rumors became louder & louder, until they finally became confirmed in a "circumstances not under my control" farewell.
When a player wants to bolt for "greener pastures" they post a flowery farewell, thanking the coaches for the opportunity & telling the players they'll always be brothers. They don't post veiled innuendo that this was forced upon them!
There may be kernels of truth in every version of this that's spun out there, but that timeline refutes that Worthy never wanted to be here!
So, I ask - if indeed this was all brought about by Admissions nit-picking a course credit or some other thing that his CA HS had passed for graduation - who was served? What aspect of the University of Michigan was bettered by this?
EDIT: Still waiting for anyone to refute any part of this timeline...
Oh, so that is why he signed with Michigan when he could have gone elsewhere.
He went to Texas. Giles went to Washington.
Something isn’t adding up.
EXACTLY!
This is spin
Good luck to him, but I hope Texas loses every game for the next 10 years.
Amen. Suck it Texas.
I agree with that, but it won't be because of Xavier Worthy!
This has been obvious for months that if Worthy left, that he'd end up at Texas. It's been obvious that Sark & Co has been illegally in contact with and recruiting him since he signed. Tampering has always been a part of college sports, but is becoming blatantly obvious now with the transfer portal and is likely just going to be the norm in football and basketball now
The Eyes ? of Texas are mighty shifty.
"It's been obvious that Sark & Co has been illegally in contact with and recruiting him since he signed."
Can you point to the obvious evidence that Sarkisian has been doing this?
Texas insiders have been talking about this being in motion for months
Sam Webb said in his OPINION they have definitely tampered here.
If so, I believe Michigan can report them to the NCAA. I believe Pat Summit/UT reported UConn to the NCAA for violations.
Can but is the juice worth the squeeze? This is the ncaa we are talking about - what you stand to gain is virtually nothing and what you stand to lose could be a lot depending on how the story is spun in the ever-Harbaugh friendly media
The difference here is that unlike Pat Summit, a beloved coach who built relationships with peers and administrators, Harbaugh is an asshole that no one likes.
Why, no the NCAA can punish North Texas?
Definitely possible, but if Michigan didn’t shit it’s pants and make sure it had its house in order to get Worthy properly admitted, then this thread isn’t even happening. Worthy even said he wanted to be here, but this all happened due to circumstances beyond his control.
Michigan honestly has no one to blame here but itself. I’m sure Sark did stuff beyond the rules, but Michigan tee’d him up. All he had to do was swing.
Ask any longhorn fan. Or anyone in the south
They don't care if they cheat. They'll talk about it openly.
April 24th, 2021 at 10:33 PM ^
*Ask any longhorn fan. Or anyone in the south
They don't care if they cheat. They'll talk about it openly.
/Can definitely confirm this is a fact.
So true. It may well be beneficial to the player but it sucks they joy out of being a fan.
Guys - I’ve been on board and see all the posts about tampering. Where does this come from - what evidence/pseudo evidence is out there that indicates Texas did anything at all. Thanks for any help here.
I said this below, but Texas insiders have been talking about Sark recruiting Worthy and Worthy flipping to Texas for months after Worthy signed with Michigan. There is literally no reality where that smoke can exist without the two parties being in communication, which is tampering
April 24th, 2021 at 10:41 PM ^
There is no evidence of "tampering." And since he wasn't enrolled, "tampering" is not an issue. The problem evidently was that for some reason the university had an issue with the timing of his enrollment. It could be there were academic question-marks. It could be he didn't provide the right paperwork. But of course the slappies here all I assume Michigan just fucked up, even though there's no track record of same in any other recruitments.
And since he wasn't enrolled, "tampering" is not an issue
He had signed his LOI and therefore contact with other coaches is not allowed
Apparently Worthy was enrolled, just not in time for Spring practice.
Look, this is so simple - he went somewhere they're serious about trying to win football games!
Texas has had 3 (4?) Head Coaches in Harbaugh's tenure at Michigan! We all wanted Herman at one time - they jettisoned him when he didn't make the cfp in 3 years!
You’re probably right I’m just not sure why it matters. We have now seen that current players can transfer at will anytime they want. Nothing is sacred anymore, we certainly can’t expect someone who hasn’t enrolled to be a lock. I get your point though, it’s just another sad evolution of the sport.
Go after Sark and Texas for what? We fucked this up and this is the consequence.
Both things can be true at once
I mean the kid is a highly rated WR prospect that’s going to play college football. If not Texas, then somewhere else. Couple that with the fact there’s no evidence of Texas “tampering,” and the comment that Harbaugh should “go after Sark” seems silly.
Texas insiders have been talking about it for months. If you want to believe that there’s been smoke about Worthy being on campus and leaving for Texas for months and there wasnt communication between both sides then go for it
Exactly, the fact Michigan admission fucked this up doesn't let Texas off the hook for tampering (if it's true they really tampered), and vice versa.