Former Texas Longhorns WR Reacts to Shedeur Sanders Preseason Debut

The Texas Longhorns were one year removed from potentially playing Shedeur Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in the Big 12.

The two former rivals completed their first year in a new conference this past season, but one can only imagine the kind of Hollywood that a potential Texas vs. Colorado matchup would have had with Deion Sanders, his two sons, and Travis Hunter in the spotlight against a national contender in the Longhorns.

Instead, the Buffaloes returned to the Big 12 while Texas began its SEC journey. A Texas native himself, Shedeur Sanders is now starting a new chapter of his as well in the NFL, and it's safe to say things got off to an impressive start.

Xavier Worthy Shouts Out Shedeur Sanders

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former Texas star and current Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was one of many notable names that took notice during Sanders' impressive preseason debut with the Cleveland Browns on Friday night in Charlotte against the Carolina Panthers.

A fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Sanders got the start with the rest of the quarterback room dealing with injury. After some rocky plays on the first few drives, Sanders settled in and delivered a performance that certainly silenced many of the doubters for now.

Worthy, who played three at Texas, was tuned in from the beginning of the game. He gave Sanders a shoutout of motivation on X.

Yea 12 keep goin 🫡
— Z A Y 🖤 (@XavierWorthy) August 9, 2025

Sanders played 10 total series while completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions along with four carries for 19 yards.

He was replaced in the third quarter by Tyler Huntley.

As for Worthy, he has worked his way back from concussion protocol during training camp. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that the plan is for Patrick Mahomes and the starters to play the first quarter of Saturday's preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals, so if healthy, there's no reason to think why Worthy wouldn't see some action.

Worthy played in all 17 regular season games for Kansas City (13 starts) last season while posting 59 catches for 638 yards and six touchdowns along with 20 carries for 104 yards and three more scores on the ground.

As a Longhorn, Worthy played in 39 career games, tallying 197 catches for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns. He added 40 punt returns for 564 yards and one touchdown on special teams, which was highlighted by leading the FBS in punt return yards (371) during the 2023 season.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders prepares to take the field against the Carolina Panthers. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images