Tag: texas wide receiver

Texas WR Xavier Worthy showing no signs of complacency entering 2022

“This guy works like he’s got something to prove every day.”

Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy enjoyed a breakout season in 2021.

Worthy shattered most of Texas’ freshman receiving records en route to an All-American rookie campaign. He served as the Longhorns’ top wideout snagging 62 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games.

The speedster had four games eclipsing the 100-yard mark including a 261-yard, two-touchdown superhuman performance against Oklahoma in week six.

Now that he has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in America, Worthy is gaining all sorts of preseason hype. Steve Sarkisian had high praise for Worthy when asked about the soon-to-be sophomore’s work ethic after his monster freshman season.

Worthy showing no complacency is a great sign for the Texas offense. Improved quarterback play and a retooled wide receiver room around him set him up well to improve his numbers in 2022.

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Isaiah Neyor labeled as a ‘home-run fit’ for Texas

Isaiah Neyor brings a new element to Texas’ offense.

The NCAA transfer portal has been as active as ever this offseason. Difference-making players all over the country have decided to look for new homes.

Steve Sarkisian is taking advantage of this new aspect of college football by revamping the Texas roster. The Longhorns staff has done a wonderful job of adding experienced players who fit their scheme via the portal. Former Wyoming wide receiver Isaiah Neyor is a prime example of what Sarkisian looks for in a wide receiver.

247Sports’ Brad Crawford mentioned Neyor as one of the transfer portal’s “home-run fits” for 2022.

Paired with talented pass-catchers Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington this fall in the projected starting lineup, Neyor’s number will impress. He’ll also take some of the pressure off of Biletnikoff candidate Worthy given his talent level and reliability. As a redshirt freshman last season, Neyor recorded 44 receptions for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns at Wyoming. One of several new additions on offense for the Longhorns, Neyor will have three years of eligibility remaining and is one of the headliners in the deepest wide receiver room in the Big 12. Steve Sarkisian is a master at scheming ways to get his best players the football and Neyor will reap those benefits.

Texas’ offense will have a totally different look with Neyor running alongside Worthy on the outside. Longhorns fans got a taste of Neyor’s big-play ability in the spring game as he hauled in a 62-yard touchdown strike from Quinn Ewers.

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Texas WR Isaiah Neyor could help with the development of Troy Omeire

Isaiah Neyor could be the perfect mentor for Troy Omeire.

Texas Longhorns fans have long been awaiting the debut of Troy Omeire, the young wide receiver who was hauling in amazing catches in spring ball two years ago but has yet to appear in a game.

The 6-foot-3 receiver has unfortunately been plagued by injuries throughout his couple years on campus, and has been unable to be available for a single regular season game. Availability has been a major issue for this position group, as the Longhorns second leading receiver from last season, Jordan Whittington, has also had an injury-plagued career.

This led to the staff’s heavy pursuit of transfer wide receivers in the portal, where they struck gold in Wyoming’s Isaiah Neyor. A 6-foot-3 receiver with blazing speed and an infinite catch radius, who ranks as the No. 18 overall player in the transfer portal.

247Sports recently wrote about the impact Neyor will have and has had on the team up to this point. Here is what they said about Neyor’s positive early impact on the position group:

Omeire will benefit from having an experienced player like Neyor in his position group. After redshirting as a freshman in 2019, Neyor followed up a 2020 season with eight catches for 248 yards (31 yards per catch) with 44 catches for 878 yards and 12 TD catches in 2021. 

“Isaiah has an excellent work ethic and is already leading by example,” the team source said. “The more guys you can have like that, the better everyone in the position group becomes, including Troy (Omeire).”

If Texas can get the production from Neyor that he had at Wyoming, where he caught 44 passes for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns, the Longhorns will have a very dangerous one-two punch with him and Xavier Worthy.

It will also help Omeire to see a receiver built very similarly to him have success in this offense.

Bleacher Report names Texas’ Xavier Worthy one of the top receivers for 2022

The Longhorns have one of the nation’s best receivers.

Things seem to be on the come up for a Texas program that has long been on the wrong end of success.

The pursuit of getting back to national relevancy still lives on, as Steve Sarkisian is the latest hire at head coach and did not find much success during his inaugural season. The Longhorns struggled all season en route to a 5-7 record, but there were some bright spots from the season.

Obviously one of them being running back Bijan Robinson, who we all knew was a star, but one player in particular burst onto the scene. Freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the lone recruit that Sarkisian added to the squad in 2021, supplanted himself as the team’s best playmaker at receiver.

He broke every record imaginable for a freshman receiver at Texas, and is expected to be one of the nation’s best pass catchers for years to come. Bleacher Report went as far as ranking him the No. 4 receiver in their top 10 receiver stars for 2022.

Here is what they said about Worthy:

Xavier Worthy is a superstar in the making.

As a true freshman with Texas in 2021, he went a long way in establishing that opinion, even amid quarterback inconsistency as first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian flip-flopped from Hudson Card to Casey Thompson.

Now, neither of those guys are there, and former 5-star QB Quinn Ewers is returning home to run the show. While there might be some growing pains in his first year as a starter, there’s no question Ewers has the athletic ability and arm strength to do big things. Worthy will benefit from it.

It’s also a big deal the Longhorns flipped Isaiah Neyor from Tennessee after he left Wyoming. Having Neyor on the other side will alleviate some of the attention heading Worthy’s way, and he can make defenses pay.

Worthy was easily the best player for Texas a year ago besides running back Bijan Robinson. He finished with 62 catches for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns and stretched the field as well as anyone.

All of that was amazing, considering it was just his first year, and after a season in the strength and conditioning program, he’ll be stronger and faster. He also can focus on not making so many miscues with turnovers and drops, which will make him the complete player.

He has an extraordinarily high ceiling, and Sark will get the ball in his hands as much as possible.

Texas will need another big season from Worthy in order to help the team take that next step in order to compete in the Big 12.

Texas WR Jordan Whittington set to return against West Virginia

Big news for the Texas offense as Jordan Whittington is expected to play against West Virginia.

Steve Sarkisian announced on Thursday that Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington will return to the field against West Virginia.

Whittington had surgery after he suffered a broken clavicle against Oklahoma back in October.

Texas has missed the redshirt sophomore from Cuero in a major way. Since Whittington went down Texas has lost five straight games, and saw starting wide receiver Joshua Moore enter the transfer portal.

Having Whittington back in the mix should benefit both Xavier Worthy and the running backs. Adding a dangerous threat to the offense means some attention will be taken away from Worthy and opposing defenses will think twice about loading the box.

In five games, Whittington had 359 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He was to go-to guy for Texas in clutch situations, leading the team in third-down conversions before his injury.

Whittington will provide some much-needed help to the offense as the Horns look to end their five-game losing streak. Texas must beat both West Virginia and Kansas State to become eligible for a bowl game.

Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington out for the regular season

Another year, another heartbreaking injury diagnosis for Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington.

Another year, another heartbreaking injury diagnosis for Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington.

Steve Sarkisian confirmed Whittington was going to be out for the rest of the regular season with a clavicle injury. He injured it diving for a ball during Texas’ loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 9.

This will mark the second regular season-ending injury of his career. However, a return at some point in the postseason was not ruled out by the head coach.

“It’d be great to get him back, whether it’s a possible Big 12 Championship or bowl game, I know he wants to work back,” said Sarkisian.

Whittington came to Austin as a five-star prospect with a lot of hope. Injuries have done nothing but derail his career over the past three seasons. A groin injury ended a much-anticipated freshman season. A mix of knee and hip problems only let him play in five guys last year and now, the clavicle.

Performances may have been inconsistent but Whittington was on pace to have a great season. Through six games, he managed 24 receptions for 359 yards and three touchdowns. With all the attention Xavier Worthy was going to attract from Big 12 defenses in the second half of the season, breakout numbers could have been on deck.

Looking to the rest of the Texas wide receiver room, Joshua Moore and Xavier Worthy will remain Casey Thompson’s favorite targets. To replace Whittington, Sarkisian mentioned Marcus Washington and Kelvontay Dixon.

Washington has started three games this season, notably blocking for Worthy on his opening play touchdown against Oklahoma. The junior has been waiting for his moment to break out. An opportunity awaits over the next six games.

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Texas WR Xavier Worthy is PFF’s True Freshman of the Week

One of the best performances of any wide receiver in Texas football history.

Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy took the college football world by storm in Week 6. Continue reading “Texas WR Xavier Worthy is PFF’s True Freshman of the Week”

X marks the spot: Texas WR Xavier Worthy scores on the first play of the game against Oklahoma

WHAT. A. START.

What a way to start the game. Continue reading “X marks the spot: Texas WR Xavier Worthy scores on the first play of the game against Oklahoma”

Texas WR Troy Omeire out for the season after undergoing knee surgey

Troy Omeire’s debut at Texas has once again been put on hold.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced that wide receiver Troy Omeire will miss the remainder of the 2021 season after undergoing knee surgery this week. Continue reading “Texas WR Troy Omeire out for the season after undergoing knee surgey”

Five things to watch for in Texas’ Big 12 opener vs Texas Tech

Here are five things to watch for in Texas’ Big 12 opener against Texas Tech on Saturday.

The nonconference schedule had ups and downs for Texas. Games against Louisiana and Rice were thought to be surefire wins and turned out to be true. Arkansas, on the other hand, was a disaster from the get-go despite being nearly a touchdown favorite on the road.

Now, Steve Sarkisian can turn the page to conference play with a home game against Texas Tech. It will mark the second consecutive season the two schools will open up their Big 12 seasons against one another.

Texas Tech enters Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium undefeated with the most impressive win being over Houston. Saturday will mark their first true away game of the year, however.

We know the offense is going to be solid under Matt Wells, but the Red Raider defense has performed nicely three games in. Texas will have to prepare as they did against Louisiana and Rice to start conference play 1-0.

Here are five things to watch for in Texas’ Big 12 opener against Texas Tech on Saturday.