Longhorns WR Xavier Worthy Played Back Half of 2022 With Broken Hand

According to Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, Xavier Worthy was dealing with a major injury for the second half of the 2022 season.

Matt Galatzan | Mar 6, 2023

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN - Texas Longhorns star wide receiver Xavier Worthy uncharacteristically struggled down the stretch of the 2022 season, particularly with dropped passes.

As a result, his production was down considerably from his stellar freshman campaign.

Still, the Longhorns' No. 1 receiver was a major threat, catching 60 passes for 760 yards and nine touchdowns, at one point, scoring in six straight games

And on Monday following the Longhorns' first spring practice, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made a revealing announcement, telling reporters that Worthy played the second half of the 2022 season with a broken hand.

Sarkisian also came to a swift defense of his star wideout and said that he expects to see a much different and improved player out of Worthy in 2023.

“That guy never wanted to sit out, not play," Sarkisian said. "He fought through it… we are going to see a (different) version of Xavier Worthy (next season)”

Earlier this offseason, Worthy had been rumored to be considering a move to the NCAA Transfer Portal - particularly after the loss of wide receivers coach Brennan Marion.

However, in the wake of those rumors, Sarkisian once again jumped to a swift defense of his star pass catcher and raved about his competitive nature.

“I think the one part about Xavier is this, he is a highly competitive young man," Sarkisian said. "He has a high sense of competitiveness and drive to be the best. And he works that way every day. Sometimes when you don't get the result of it and that can become a sense of frustration. But I would much rather have a receiver that's frustrated that he didn't contribute more to a win, that a guy who is content on going on the field and playing and the ball not coming his way."

Following Sarkisian's comments, and after a number change, Worthy was back on the field for the Horns against the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.

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Published Mar 6, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.