ESPN names Michigan’s most impactful commit in 2021 class so far, and it’s a surprise

Three weeks ago the Michigan Wolverines earned the commitment of four-star wide receiver Xavier Worthy out of Fresno, California. The No. 147 recruit in the country chose the Wolverines over Alabama, Auburn, and Arizona State.

Now, national outlets are praising the fit of Worthy within Josh Gattis’ ‘Speed in Space’ offense.

ESPN wrote a piece on the most impactful recruits in the 2021 class so far ($) and Worthy, not five-star quarterback recruit J.J. McCarthy, earned the honor from author Tom VanHaaren:

“This pick was going to be quarterback J.J. McCarthy because he could stabilize the quarterback position for Michigan in the future,” said VanHaaren, “Worthy is getting the nod, though, because he is going to ultimately help Michigan get to the speed in space as he has elite speed.

“Most of the faster receivers Michigan has signed in the past few classes have been 5-foot-10 and under with Mike Sainristil, Giles Jackson and A.J. Henning. Worthy is going to bring a little more size to the offense, and if he can add weight, he could be an excellent option to stretch the field on the outside.”

“McCarthy would make sense as this pick, and maybe he should be, but it seems as though Worthy could be an outstanding receiver at Michigan.”

Worthy comes in at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds as we stand right now. With a college regimen and training, the top-150 prospect will only continue to develop throughout his career.

Ohio State’s defensive end commit Jack Sawyer, the No. 3 overall commit according to 247sports, earned top marks from VanHaaren. His though was based on the pipeline that the Buckeyes have instilled from Columbus to the NFL over the last few seasons producing names like the Bosa brothers and Chase Young. Ryan Day would be pleased if he could continue piping NFL talent from their ranks.

But let’s get back to the positive in this and that is the speedy wideout that Jim Harbaugh is bringing to Ann Arbor, Xavier Worthy. Sports Illustrated crafted a piece on the Top-10 slot receivers in class of 2021 and Worthy manuevers his way to No. 5 on a pretty impressive list.

SI’s John Garcia Jr said if you’re bored, you should just put on some tape and watch Worthy run:

The recent Michigan commitment is among the more exciting skill position stars in the class of 2021 with his ability to challenge defenses at the line of scrimmage or simply take the top off of the secondary all together. Projecting him in the slot is more about hitting a higher ceiling based on playing in space compared to more polished slot types on this list, and for good reason. Worthy has exceptional speed and burst, but there’s a level of smooth in his current route tree understanding to go along with the ball skills that make him the type to build a passing attack around down the line. A long stride and expansive catch radius emphasize his ability to make an impact regardless of down and distance. Once he fills out, watch out.

The four names in front of the Michigan commit are Mario Williams (Oklahoma commit, No. 35 overall recruit by 247sports), Christian Leary at No. 2 (Alabama commit, No. 124 overall), Third is Destyn Pazon (undecided, No. 105 overall), and just ahead of Worthy is Jabez Tinae (Washington commit, No. 208 overall).

It seems like quite a few Michigan commits get plenty of hype after making their decisions. Let’s see if Worthy is one that can live up to it starting in 2021.