Xavier Worthy's mom on why he left Michigan for Texas
The Athletic's Max Olson wrote a piece about Xavier Worthy, which details why he left Michigan. According to her, the Michigan admissions department was the culprit:
Unfortunately, as his recruiting process heated up, a pandemic was going on. Worthy couldn’t take official visits and had to build relationships over video chats. He became a big believer in Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and his “Speed in Space” mantra, and that connection persuaded him to commit to Michigan in July 2020.
Sarkisian, Alabama’s offensive coordinator at the time, never backed off. Worthy and Jones took a November trip to Alabama to attend an Iron Bowl win over Auburn and do a self-guided campus tour, sparking rumors that a flip was incoming. But Worthy stuck with Michigan and signed in December. Coach Jim Harbaugh called him “one of the top players in the country.”
“I felt like that was where home was at,” Worthy said.
When he first picked Michigan, Worthy planned to be an early enrollee. His school district didn’t allow seniors to graduate early. Jones got creative. She got him enrolled in Apex Learning Virtual School, an online program, for the fall of 2020. It wasn’t easy to get that plan lined up without guidance counselors, but Jones ensured his class schedule met all graduation and NCAA initial eligibility requirements.
But that's not good enough for Michigan admissions, as we've learned over and over again:
In early January 2021, two weeks before Worthy would move to Ann Arbor with J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards and the Wolverines’ freshman enrollees, a problem emerged. Michigan has strict admissions standards for midyear enrollees, one former staffer said, and wasn’t able to get Worthy admitted into school. He was told that based on his academic profile, it would be better to enroll in June for U-M’s summer bridge program. His mother was stunned.
“For me, that didn’t fly,” she said. “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?”
Worthy wanted to stay at Michigan, but he wasn't allowed to join the team since he wasn't enrolled.
Worthy still wanted to honor his commitment. He moved to Ann Arbor and got an apartment. When Michigan posted a video of midyear move-in day on Jan. 16, Worthy was missing. Two days later, he announced on Twitter that “to end all the drama and speculations I am not enrolling early.” But he was in town. Since he wasn’t enrolled, he wasn’t allowed to work out in the football facility. All he could do was join Zoom meetings. After a strange month of trying to make it work, he moved back home.
“Michigan messed that up,” Jones said. “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.’”
The 17-year-old returned to Fresno to rethink his future. It didn’t make him feel any better that Central East was playing a five-game spring season and he couldn’t participate. During a loss to rival Buchanan, Biggs looked to Worthy on the sideline and told him, “Sure could use you right now.”
If he wasn’t going to Michigan, Worthy knew where he needed to be.
“I was going wherever Sark went,” he said.
When is Santa Ono going to get this fixed?
September 8th, 2023 at 11:20 PM ^
Despite these very real obstacles to our program’s competitiveness, Coach Harbaugh has our team ranked #2 and gunning for a 3rd straight B1G title. Truly impressive.
September 9th, 2023 at 2:54 AM ^
Yep, been thinking about where coach ranks amongst his peers and I honestly can't imagine ANYONE else accomplishing what he has at UM...not Sabin, not Smart, no one. He done this with, the second or even 3rd best, by recruiting ratings, talent in his own division AND at an institution that limits him in ways others do not.
Give the man his money...no one should be paid more or have more job security.
Warde/Santa...don't lose this guy...
September 9th, 2023 at 8:39 AM ^
And while Juwan hasn't been that successful, this is why I've been very easy on him regarding enrollment BS. It's entirely possible he didn't know about this crap until he got the job, he may still be learning to adjust, and I think it's a bigger problem for basketball than football because of roster turnover. It's also not just about transfers, as this story shows. Beilein was right to leave when he did.
September 8th, 2023 at 11:31 PM ^
That's super embarrassing and honestly says more about the administrative bureaucracy than it does about the football program.
This is on Santa Ono to fix. The admin not seeing that a recruit like Xavier Worthy can literally elevate the entire school is a miss.
September 9th, 2023 at 12:29 AM ^
Do you know what the word "literally" means, Dennis? He couldn't even elevate Angell Hall, let alone the entire school. 😉
September 9th, 2023 at 7:22 AM ^
HighBeta -
You blinked, and the world changed. Because, dear friend, literally also now means figuratively, due to constant (former) misuse.
https://www.salon.com/2013/08/22/according_to_the_dictionary_literally_…
Enjoy!
September 9th, 2023 at 8:09 AM ^
That begs the question as to how many other words or phrases have been, for all intensive purposes, misused literally ad nauseum.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:52 AM ^
Less words have their original meanings now, I've noticed. 😉👍
September 9th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^
Less words have their original meanings now
Hahaha
September 9th, 2023 at 8:53 AM ^
I think we need to put our foot down in the sand on this one and get the monkey in their court.
September 9th, 2023 at 9:05 AM ^
I could of swore you left a big one out.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:03 AM ^
I could care less about that.
I was chomping at the bit to get that out.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^
For future reference, the proper term is that you "could not" care less.
September 9th, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
Bet you were champing at the bit to tell him that
September 9th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
Touché, Brute?
September 9th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
You shouldn't be surprised at what was coming down the pipe
September 9th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
I guarantee that by the 4th quarter there will be a less amount of people in the stands than in the beginning.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
One word I find amusing - "decimated" only meant to eradicate approximately 10% of something. Now it's used as if it means all-encompassing destruction.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:13 AM ^
Intensive purposes-did I see what you did there?
September 9th, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
TBH everything I have ever said that is not prefaced with "to be honest" is a lie
September 10th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
Just like anything prefaced with, "with all due respect" will be followed by something disrespectful.
Or whatever follows "No offense but" is guaranteed to be offensive.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
I figuratively did not know that! Thank you!
September 9th, 2023 at 6:13 AM ^
The admin not seeing that a recruit like Xavier Worthy can literally elevate the entire school is a miss.
lord. the administration? as in the entire university administration? is supposed to treat a 17-year old football player as some sort of actual priority for the coming school year, on a school-wide level? how does xavier worthy “elevate the entire school?” has texas (texas!) school culture somehow been “elevated” because he went there? no, it has not.
look, i get the frustration with admissions around here. i don’t share it at the same level, but i get it. but my lord, get a grip.
September 9th, 2023 at 6:52 AM ^
Once we give up the charade of treating big time athletes as students we can move past admissions policies and just start paying them directly to play football as employees of the university. Attending classes wouldn't be part of the equation unless they wanted a diploma, then they'd have to pass the same admissions standards a normal student would.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
once we move past the charade of treating them like students we can end the football program and kick it out of the university entirely. i swear to god, i’m not even slightly kidding.
if it’s going to be a minor-league professional sport, make it an actual minor-league professional sport.
September 10th, 2023 at 12:36 AM ^
And how exactly would UofM be diminished by getting this kid in? Certainly the kid is in no way diminished and his desire to EE shows an academic regard that starts him on the right foot. What entity or element within the school is bettered by the result? Name it? I can only come up with ass in the air administration and their enabling alums who’s ego must rank this kids future? A future that certainly has a very strong chance to be a net positive for all those aforementioned “stakeholders” that will enjoy the fruits of success on the field either directly $$ or by the common glory brought on.
September 9th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
We should always treat athletes as students, for their sake.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
There have been scattered reports of the UT campus elevating above the Texas plains.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
Worthy must have transferred from Novi Grad, Sokovia
September 9th, 2023 at 8:12 AM ^
I’m not gonna blame this one on admissions. Seems like Mrs. Worthy decided to transfer her son into seemingly not reputable online program to get her son around some requirements at his old school and is shocked there was admissions issues and is now blaming it on Michigan
September 9th, 2023 at 9:18 AM ^
Apex Learning Academy is reputable and used by a lot of young athletes. As she stated their courses are approved by the NCAA for academic eligibility.
If Michigan had all of his info in Sept, its absolutely on admissions, not inform them that there was an issue until the 11th hour.
September 9th, 2023 at 12:19 PM ^
And this is where bureaucracy gets frustrating--if there are so many people employed by admissions, you would think they have the resources to get things like this right and settle this in Sept with the student; unfortunately, bureaucracy usually ends up letting things fall through cracks.
Whoever the recruiting coordinator was at the time also has some culpability, the should have sought a clear answer from admissions and clearly advised Worthy's mother on this.
September 9th, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^
Seth addressed this directly in one of the podcasts -- and I'm not just replying to you, but providing this as information for this part of the topic.....
In the podcast, Seth said that at most universities with major sports programs, academic departments work closely and effectively with recruiting staff to keep them advised as to the academic status of recruits. And, apparently, this happens early on at most places, as in, the departments make it a priority to work with recruiting staff.
Michigan does not do this. Departments don't put any priority on advising recruiting staff about the status of incoming recruits. Thus, at Michigan, this kind of thing happens often and puts recruiting staff in awful positions with transfer recruits. This puts us at a competitive disadvantage vis a vis the transfer portal, especially with second- and third-year players. Not only do departments hesitate to accept transfer credits, they do not prioritize letting recruiting staff know that there are issues. Thus, "Worthy situations" happen often.
It's awful, and it's quite easily fixed IF the academic departments cared to. They don't. That's the key.
September 9th, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
The Michigan Difference™
September 9th, 2023 at 12:19 PM ^
And this is where bureaucracy gets frustrating--if there are so many people employed by admissions, you would think they have the resources to get things like this right and settle this in Sept with the student; unfortunately, bureaucracy usually ends up letting things fall through cracks.
Whoever the recruiting coordinator was at the time also has some culpability, the should have sought a clear answer from admissions and clearly advised Worthy's mother on this.
September 9th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
Uhh, that's not what it sounds like at all. Yes, she was trying to find a solution to get him on campus earlier. So what? Does any one think IMG, where some of our players are from, is really any better from an academic perspective?
She said she submitted to the University the paperwork related to this program in September. Why wasn't this flagged as an issue immediately? Instead, why did it take until two weeks before he enrolled? This is 100% on Michigan's admissions department.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Does any one think IMG, where some of our players are from, is really any better from an academic perspective?
no. also, this is not the counter-argument you think it is.
September 8th, 2023 at 11:33 PM ^
Ah yes, the whole family seemed to believe in Gattis's "Speed in Space" mantra for different reasons...
September 8th, 2023 at 11:40 PM ^
Username checks out
September 9th, 2023 at 7:41 AM ^
Well, maybe if he has a Southern-type accent. Or he's planning to blow up Parliament...
September 9th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
The misappropriation of Guy Fawkes is hilarious to me. The guy wasn’t a leftist in anyway yet it is leftists who most often wear this mask because of a graphic novel.
Dude was closer to McVeigh than a member of Baader-Meinhof.
September 9th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
Hahaha
September 9th, 2023 at 11:41 AM ^
Blow up Parliament...Now that's funky.
September 8th, 2023 at 11:33 PM ^
I wouldn't suggest that our school relax it's academic standards for anybody, but this, to me, seems like admissions going out of it's way to create problems, or at the least having no path to resolve them. They seemingly did everything they were asked to do in good faith, then had the door slammed in their faces, for arbitrary reasons, or on a technicality, at the 11th hour. Noone could be blamed for losing trust at that point.
September 9th, 2023 at 12:03 AM ^
Reading between the lines here, it sounds like Worthy's plan was to graduate early from high school by attending a virtual diploma mill and take two semesters' worth of online courses during the fall to get the rest of his credits. I can entirely understand if U-M admissions was wary of that.
September 9th, 2023 at 12:58 AM ^
Yeah “virtual diploma mill” sounds bad, but guess what? All schools are diploma mills when it comes to elite athletes. Worthy’s high school was going to make him waste half a year sitting in a classroom when he could have been furthering his career on the field. His mom helped him figure out a workaround that was fine with everyone except some out of touch asshole in U-M admissions.
What’s going on here is the equivalent of some old creepy white guy trying to argue that paying for sex is classy as long as you buy a high end escort and not a prostitute off the street. U-M admissions is more anachronistic than the NCAA when it comes to this bullshit of “playing school”.
September 9th, 2023 at 8:42 AM ^
Right. Do people think IMG, a school literally made to be centered around sports, isn't a diploma mill?
September 9th, 2023 at 2:01 PM ^
100% what I was thinking of (but couldn’t remember the name). It’s not like U-M’s usual policy is to only accept credits from academically elite, college prep schools. Worthy is a pro prospect and was better off not wasting his senior year of high school sitting in classes that wouldn’t have been any more rigorous than his online program anyway.