Central High wide receiver plans to skip senior season to enroll early at Michigan
A late start to the high school football season has prompted Central High wide receiver Xavier Worthy to skip his senior season.
Worthy announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday and plans to enroll at Michigan in January, just when high school sports could potentially begin in the Central Section.
The California Interscholastic Federation announced this week that fall sports will be pushed back and let each section determine when to start up.
The move was made as the CIF takes every step to quell the spread of the coronavirus that shuttered schools when the pandemic hit in March.
The Central Section, the CIF’s arm in the central San Joaquin Valley, released its plans of when seasons will start, condensing three seasons into two in a six-month window. Traditional winter sports basketball, soccer and wrestling slide into spring.
Football will maintain an 11-week season beginning Jan. 7, then go into playoffs beginning in late March.
Worthy said it was a tough decision for him.
“It was hard because I wanted to finish with the guys,” he said. “I’ve got to do what I need to do and get ready (for Michigan).”
Central coach Kyle Biggs gave his full support to Worthy.
“I’m going to support ‘X’ with whatever decision he makes,” he said. “He has to do what he feels is best for him and I am going to support that 1,000%. I love him and I’m always going to be there for him no matter what.”
The other factor Worthy looked at is risking injury in a short time frame before relocating.
He said had he played at Central, it would be a quick turnaround, pushing his arrival in Ann Arbor to June 2021.
“I don’t want my body to be fatigued,” he said. “That would be a two-month wait. I just want to get ready for college football.”
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 8:12 PM.
