247Sports’ Bud Elliott previews Texas WR Isaiah Bond’s role in Austin

With Isaiah Bond, Texas could be reloading at wide receiver.

Isaiah Bond is set to star at Texas. The wide receiver transfer from Alabama isn’t Xavier Worthy, but he could be the next best thing.

247Sports’ Bud Elliott discussed Bond’s role in replacing college football’s fastest player, Xavier Worthy, who ran an NFL combine record 4.21 second 40-yard dash in March.

“How is Texas going to replace Xavier Worthy? Stud receiver, super speedster, now he’s in the NFL. Well, they went to Alabama. They got Isaiah Bond. You may remember Bond as the guy who caught the fourth-and-a-million heave from Jalen Milroe to beat Auburn in The Plains. Isaiah Bond didn’t put up crazy numbers in 2023. I think part of that was quarterback play. It was his first year starting. But the separation he got on routes ridiculous. Look, nobody’s really as fast as Worthy, … but Bond is probably the best approximation that you could go get.”

Elliott describes Bond as the next best option Texas could have hoped to play in the place of Worthy. He could be right. The staggering separation Bond created last season occurred against SEC secondaries. That he stood out against the conference Texas will face in 2024 perhaps makes him more of a proven commodity than the other receivers on the Longhorns’ roster.

There’s plenty of talent in the reloaded Texas receiver room. The room boasts portal additions in Bond, Matthew Golden (Houston) and Silas Bolden (Oregon State), returning talent primed to play in Johntay Cook and DeAndre Moore, a high upside speedster in Ryan Niblett and a five-star freshman in Ryan Wingo. Bond will look to become the top receiver next season.