Xavier Worthy’s blazing NFL debut a reminder the Texas football star almost became a Michigan Wolverine

Now may not be the best time to remind Michigan fans that Xavier Worthy should have been a Wolverine.

It’s true. The Kansas City Chiefs rookie who took the league by storm Thursday night by scoring twice at Arrowhead Stadium was originally committed and signed with the maize and blue before Christmas in 2020.

But on April 14, 2021, Worthy issued a cryptic tweet that said “due to circumstances beyond my control, things did not go as planned.” Listed at the time of being 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, Worthy opened up his recruitment and joined Texas and first-year coach Steve Sarkisian.

The rest, as they say, is Longhorn history.

“This is everything I dreamed of,” Worthy told Chiefs reporters late Thursday after Kansas City captured a wild 27-20 victory by the length of a Raven’s toe. “A lot of people just don’t come into an NFL game and start, let alone score a touchdown. So I just take my blessings one by one.”

Asked his first impression of Chiefs Kingdom and the fans at Arrowhead Stadium, Worthy said, “It was rocking. When I first came out, my hears were hurting.”

The first question listed on Google on Friday morning was simply “Is Xavier Worthy fast?” Ask the Ravens.

Worthy caught 62 passes for 981 yards his freshman season with the Longhorns on a team that went 5-7. The next year, the team got better with quarterback Quinn Ewers at the controls as Worthy caught nine touchdowns.

Last season was Worthy’s best lining up opposite future Indianapolis Colts draft pick Adonai Mitchell. Worthy finished his career with 197 catches for 2,755 and 26 touchdowns, third-most in Texas history. He finished with a catch in 39 consecutive games, the third-longest streak in UT history.

Still, Worthy was listed at just 172 pounds. A player that light can’t make it in the NFL, right? All of those worries went right out the door at the NFL Combine. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash in combine history at 4.21 seconds, breaking John Ross’ record of 4.22 seconds.

That was all the Chiefs needed to see. Worthy was taken 28th overall in the first round of April’s draft, and he was blazing through the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener.

“Xavier is a perfect fit in that explosive Chiefs offense,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on draft day. “He obviously has electric, world-class speed and clearly is a threat to go the distance any time he touches the ball, but he probably plays with more toughness than people give him credit for.

“It goes without saying, the speed is real and will make a big-time difference in the NFL.”

Sarkisian clearly knew his stuff. Now, the entire NFL knows, too.