Michigan Football: Breaking down the Xavier Worthy debacle

Michigan football shot itself in the foot with four-star wide receiver Xavier Worthy which makes it hard to win.

After what has seemed like months of will he or won’t he, Michigan football fans finally got some clarity from Xavier Worthy Thursday as he asked for a release from his letter of intent.

It’s a disappointing end to a ridiculous recruitment. Worthy played games throughout the process, committing, then opening it up, committing again, and now leaving.

Worthy was supposed to enroll early. He signed in December and everything appeared to be done. But then, for whatever reason, he wasn’t able to due to some admissions issues.

There was talk that Texas was still recruiting Worthy and that he could leave the Michigan football program to join the Longhorns.

He didn’t and even went to Ann Arbor. He was supposed to show up this summer for the offseason workout program.

But then, rumors started again on Wednesday, which didn’t come long after Giles Jackson transferred, and on Thursday, Worthy made it official.

Fans might want to blame Jim Harbaugh, but that’s the wrong thing to do. This isn’t Harbaugh’s fault, even though it is another reminder of why it’s so hard to win at Michigan.

Michigan administration needs to figure it out

This isn’t the first time and probably won’t be the last time that admissions cost the Michigan football program a player.

Wonder why the Wolverines haven’t been that active in the transfer portal? Well, the process of admitting a transfer academically has made it much more challenging.

That was a reason why Lance Dixon, formerly of West Bloomfield, ended up at West Virginia, despite many expecting him to end up with Michigan.

You can essentially guarantee this would never have happened at Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, or at any other elite program.

It’s easy to be mad at Worthy. It would be nice to see him honor his commitment for a least a season before going somewhere else.

At the same time though, if he was enrolled and just lit it up during spring football as Andrel Anthony just did, Worthy probably wouldn’t be going anywhere. It seems less likely at any rate.

The whole thing is just another reminder of how the Wolverines are trying to win with one hand tied behind their back, then wonder why they can’t catch up to Ohio State.