Xavier Worthy: Steve Sarkisian's guy is on display at the Super Bowl

Which Longhorn do you associate the most with Steve Sarkisian?

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Roschon Johnson and Bijan Robinson might be the most linked to his culture.

Arch Manning is the most synonymous in general.

Quinn Ewers was surely the most needed, by both parties.

Kelvin Banks was the most impactful player he’s landed.

Anthony Hill and Colin Simmons might be the two most talented.

But the first player he ever brought to Austin is who symbolizes the Sark era at Texas for me.

And on Sunday night, the whole world will get to watch Xavier Worthy in the Super Bowl against the Eagles. As Worthy catches passes from Patrick Mahomes, tries to become the first Longhorn to score in the big game, and serves as a muse for Andy Reid, I’ll be thinking about what Sarkisian is saying about Worthy—wherever it is he’s watching from.

Many forget that Worthy was a last-minute addition to Sark’s 2021 class, inherited from Tom Herman. Worthy was originally supposed to end up at Michigan with Jim Harbaugh, but a series of bungled circumstances by the Wolverines led the Fresno to Austin. As Sark has shown a propensity to do with players he wants, he never stopped hanging around the rim. He was right under it, in fact. So when Worthy bounced out of his plans to go to the Midwest, Sark got the rebound.

If there are fond memories of Sark’s first season in Austin, they probably center around Worthy: the throttling of Texas Tech, the electrifying performance against Oklahoma. The speedster dominated the Big 12 with nearly 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman. Can Longhorn fans imagine the 2021 and 2022 receiving corps without Xavier Worthy? No disrespect to Jordan Whittington, who was injured for much of 2021, but before Sark and Worthy, the room was bloated and lacking in speed.

Worthy instantly popped. Sark’s first recruit of his own in Austin was a bullseye.

When he splashed, it reminded fans of DeVonta Smith under Sark at Alabama. It was a refresher as to why the whole thing was so tantalizing to begin with. When it was fun in 2021, it was a melt your face off at a rock concert while standing too close to the booming speakers type of fun. And it was because Sarkisian had an early toy in Worthy to deploy. Watching Worthy in 2021 made me believe in Sark more. Without him, I don’t know what would have happened.

Sarkisian pointed outward, at the Alabamas and Georgias of the world, to rally support and say, “That’s what we need to become.” But Worthy seemed to be a proof of concept aimed inward—at the program and at the fans: “This is who WE can be.” Because of injuries, the growing pains of Ewers, and a tantalizing transfer portal, his second year in Austin wasn’t as rosy as his first. After the Alamo Bowl against Washington, when Worthy had several rough drops, much of the Longhorn fan base online was ready to call him an Uber to the airport.

But Sark never quit on X-Man.

He was effusive in his praise and always brought up the slight and wiry wide receiver’s toughness in playing through the pain of a broken hand. To Worthy’s credit, he shook off the things that plagued him: a wandering eye and drops. He had an incredible 2023 season. He left Austin with a Big 12 Championship and is easily a top five Longhorn wide receiver of all time. But instilling belief might be the most important thing he did while on the Forty Acres.

It’s Austin, after all, so allow me to say he was like a neon sign that Sark was able to install immediately when he got to Texas. Worthy’s presence made it easier to sell Ewers and Manning, to land transfers like AD Mitchell and Matthew Golden, and to secure future star wideouts in Ryan Wingo, Jaime Ffrench, and Kaliq Lockett.

Many of Sark’s best players have been Herman holdovers, and they’ve been testaments to the staff’s development. But Worthy was the first Sark player. And he won’t ever have to stop pointing to Worthy. He can always say, “That’s MY guy. Look what I did with him.”

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As Worthy takes the field in New Orleans on Super Bowl Sunday, Sarkisian will have the ultimate opportunity to do just that.

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