Three questions for the Texas wide receivers ahead of training camp

The Texas football wideouts entered the 2022 preseason with a significant amount of fanfare. Isaiah Neyor was tearing up training camp. Jordan Whittington was putting in extra effort to complete a healthy season and make the most of the pieces around him. Xavier Worthy was preparing for another standout season. To make it all happen, wide receivers coach Brennan Marion was going to help the position like how he helped 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison with Pitt.

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It didn’t exactly turn out that way. Neyor was lost for the season in camp, and an emphasis on the run game followed. Whittington had to play in a role with the constant 12 personnel that wasn’t fully suited to his strengths. Worthy played with a broken hand for much of the season, creating frustration that obviously affected his play.

Many of the characters in 2023 remain the same. Worthy and Whittington are back, and Neyor should be ready for the season. Casey Cain, who stepped into the WR3 role when needed last year, also returns after a 100-yard game in the Alamo Bowl and a good showing in spring.

Gone is Marion to a play-calling role at UNLV. He’s replaced by Chris Jackson, who thus far has been mostly in NFL circles.

Arrived is AD Mitchell, a Georgia transfer who caught a touchdown pass in all four of the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff games. The group also welcomed two talented early-enrollees, five-star Johntay Cook and top-125 prospect DeAndre Moore.

The position will be asked to do a lot of heavy-lifting for Steve Sarkisian‘s offense in 2023, especially with questions regarding the run game and anticipated improvement in Quinn Ewers‘ play.

What specifically needs to be known about the play of the wideouts?

Can Xavier Worthy bounce back from his up-and-down sophomore season?

Xavier Worthy’s 2022 season had successes, like his 97-yard game versus Alabama and his two-touchdown game versus Iowa State. It also had its low points, mostly in the back half of the year culminating with his drop-filled game versus Washington in the Alamo Bowl.

Worthy was productive in spite of struggles, leading the team in catches (60), receiving yards (760), and touchdowns (9). He even threw a touchdown early in the year. But the problems, drops or otherwise, stood out for the receiver opponents had to key in on during every Texas game as the year carried on.

It wasn’t until March at the beginning of spring practices that Sarkisian revealed Worthy played in the second half of the 2022 season with a broken hand, an injury that makes life extremely challenging for a wide receiver. Sarkisian defended his decision and Worthy in March, saying it was to protect the interests the team. While true, it would have relieved much of the scrutiny Worthy faced as the season progressed.

When he’s on, Worthy is on. He received first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2021 and took home second-team all-conference billing in 2022. He’s caught a pass in all 25 games in his career, and is surging up the Texas record books. Just a 600-yard campaign would place him in the top 10 all-time in yardage. He’s currently third in touchdown receptions all-time behind No. 1 Roy Williams and No. 2 Jordan Shipley, with passing Colt McCoy‘s roommate a realistic possibility.

If Worthy becomes a pass-catcher who requires bracket coverage game-to-game across an entire season, the UT offense will benefit greatly and the early rounds of the NFL could be a possibility after a prolific third year with the Longhorns.

What does AD Mitchell bring to Texas?

During his freshman year with the Georgia Bulldogs, AD Mitchell played in 15 games, starting in 12, and hauled in 29 passes for 426 yards. Impressive for a freshman, but when he accumulated those stats matters more.

Mitchell caught four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the postseason, with score one in each College Football Playoff game, on UGA’s way to a national title.

Injuries plagued Mitchell’s sophomore 2022 season. When he returned to health in time for the College Football Playoff, he picked up right where he left off a year earlier. Versus Ohio State and TCU, Mitchell caught four passes for 65 yards. Again, he had a touchdown catch in each.

Mitchell elected to continue his career elsewhere after the championship performance and entered the portal, picking Texas on January 20. He competed with Cain at boundary wide receiver and set himself up for a heated battle in preseason camp, but a battle he’s the favorite to win.

Can he remain healthy, unlike in 2022? Mitchell had a green ‘no-touch’ jersey on during his most recent public appearance in the spring game, but made an amazing one-handed catch to draw oohs and ahhs from the crowd. If he is everything he’s been during CFP games, Mitchell will create a top-three at wide receiver for Texas that will make cheating coverage to one a tough ask.

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Will depth that wasn’t there in 2022 become apparent in 2023?

Once Neyor was lost in 2022 camp, it became clear to Sarkisian that an offense that emphasized Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson was his best path to victory. That especially held true with the way Ewers played over the second half of the season. The philosophy often meant the Longhorns were in 12 or 21 personnel, which kept only Worthy and Whittington on the field from the wideout ranks.

Two NFL backs helped that strategy make sense last season, but the similar established star power isn’t in the RB room this year. More will probably be asked of Worthy, Whittington, and Mitchell.

But what if three players with injury history miss games? Will Neyor be able to step up?

Lack of effective depth at wide receiver was a part of the governor on the 2022 passing game. Long story short, any receiver not named Worthy or Whittington caught 21 of the 131 passes completed to wideouts, or just 16 percent.

That should be an issue Texas can attack slightly better, but it remains to be seen with some more talented but also more unproven players. Cook and Moore had good first semesters and are physical talents but are getting accustomed to college ball. Ryan Niblett joined them for summer workouts, but the immense athletic talent has work to do from a technical standpoint.

Ensuring Neyor is ready and getting Cook, Moore, Cain, and Niblett fully up to speed should be one of Jackson’s priorities when camp arrives.