Xavier Worthy became the fastest player in NFL Combine history on Saturday. He set the 40-yard dash record by running a blazing fast official time of 4.21 seconds.
Meanwhile, Michigan fans wondered what could have been.
Worthy, a four-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2021, was committed to play for the Wolverines until an admissions issue blew it all up. He instead spent each of the last three seasons at Texas and caught 197 passes for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns.
A very bare bones timeline to the unusual recruitment process starts in July of 2020 when Worthy committed to Michigan and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis over Alabama and then-offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. In doing so, he also decided to enroll for the spring semester.
However, his high school did not allow him to graduate early so his mom, Nicky Jones, got creative.
She got him enrolled in an online school for the fall of 2020 (everything was online due to the pandemic anyway) and made 100% certain that her son was going to meet all NCAA eligibility requirements. Everything was on track.
Worthy signed with the Wolverines in December and moved to Ann Arbor shortly thereafter.
And then things took a frustrating turn. Michigan could not admit Worthy in January and suggested that it would be best to enroll in June instead.
Jones told The Athletic that she was furious. Understandably so.
For me, that didn’t fly. I turned in all of his academic paperwork and applications in September. As far as I had been told, up until two weeks before, he was on track to enroll early. There was nothing missing, nothing short, they’d waived the SATs. It didn’t make sense. Something wasn’t right. What’s the problem and why am I finding out about this now?
— Nicky Jones, via The Athletic
Even while all of this was going on, Worthy tried to make it work and stayed loyal to his commitment. He was not allowed to work out in the football facility because he was not enrolled and only attended Zoom meetings. That became too much after a month.
Worthy returned home, rethought his college football future, and later ended up in Austin with Sarkisian.
Michigan messed that up. The trust wasn’t there. For us, trust is so big in everything. We just never felt like we were getting the truth about what happened. It was just a lot of “we’re sorry.”
— Nicky Jones, via The Athletic
Michigan lost out on a superstar.
Xavier Worthy went to Texas.
Josh Gattis, who played a crucial role in getting Worthy to commit to the Wolverines, left the team after two seasons to accept the same job at Miami. He was fired by Miami after one year. He is now at Maryland.
Michigan fans have been brutal toward Gattis since his departure. Especially when it comes to Worthy.
A viral rumor spread like wildfire amongst the fanbase and later escalated to a national level. That rumor was a big topic of conversation while Worthy broke the 40 record at the Combine.
Gattis decided to finally punch back.
In doing so, he alleged that Michigan committed multiple NCAA violations by hosting recruits on campus during the COVID-19 dead period. He also reiterated that the university’s admissions office was responsible for Worthy’s flip— not the rumor.
It’s time this Bs ends. The slander has crossed the line for too long. Don’t make excuses for admission…. Or how about look into being on campus during covid. Want to keep on?
— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) March 3, 2024
The 40-year-old offensive coordinator hinted that significant evidence of violations is in his possession.
Sounds like you need others to speak for you. I’ve taken the high road too long while you & others slander my integrity & family
— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) March 3, 2024
Ask why Admissions said they wouldn’t require a ACT but denied mid year because of a ACT 4 days before enroll. Do you want the violations too? Emails?
He also hinted that Michigan’s local reporters are aware of the “truth,” whatever that may be, and demanded that the slanderous rumor be put to rest.
no bag just receipts! The rivals reporters know the truth…. Go dig them up for the ncaa. Have fun but leave my name, family out of your mouth.
— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) March 3, 2024
Jim Harbaugh served a three-game suspension at the start of last season that stemmed from an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations. The head coach lied about a meal he shared with recruits during the COVID dead period in 2020. The governing body had receipts to prove him wrong, literally.
Josh Gattis appears to be alleging that the violations did not stop there! Spicy!!