Texas Football: Jordan Whittington’s return keeps slot WR solidified

Big news arrived for the Texas football program on the morning of Jan. 6 getting the word that redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Whittington will return to the team in 2023. A report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Twitter on Jan. 6 said that “Whittington plans to return to the Longhorns for a fifth year in 2023”.

Whittington then followed up that report from Thamel with a tweet of his own, saying that “I’ll be returning in 2023”.

Prior to this news coming day on the morning of Jan. 5, it already looked as if Whittington was trending toward a return to the Longhorns for the 2023 season. The report from Thamel and the confirmation tweet by Whittington now affirm the rumors that were already circulating surrounding the possibility of him returning to Texas for another year.

This is huge for head coach Steve Sarkisian, wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator Brennan Marion, and the Longhorns to get Whittington back in 2023. When healthy, Whittington is one of the most productive and capable slot playmakers in the Big 12.

Texas football gets starting slot WR Jordan Whittington back for the 2023 season

Since the 2020 season, Whittington has registered more than 500 yards after the catch on slot targets, 29 missed tackles forced, and 11 contested catches. Each of those stats on slot targets since the 2020 season ranks in the top five among Big 12 wide receivers since the start of the 2020 campaign.

And it’s pretty crazy to think that Whittington was able to do all that while having so many nagging injury issues in the last few seasons. The 2022 campaign was really the first time that Texas fans got to see Whittington play a season fully healthy.

As a result, Whittington reeled in 50 catches for 652 receiving yards, both career highs. He also reeled in 50 catches for more than 650 receiving yards while the quarterback position was a revolving door for much of the regular season due to the shoulder injury that redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers suffered in Week 2 against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Whittington will return to the Longhorns in 2023 as the presumed starting slot receiver next to the likes of sophomore Xavier Worthy and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Neyor. Assuming that Neyor returns to full health following the season-ending knee injury he suffered in fall camp in 2022 and that Worthy doesn’t test the waters in the transfer portal, the same trio of wideouts should be back for the Longhorns next season.

Heading into fall camp in 2022, it looked as if Sark and the Longhorns would have a really solid trio of starting wideouts between Worthy, Whittington, and Neyor. But the season-ending injury to Neyor in fall camp derailed that hope.

Texas will now have a chance to reload the wide receiver room with some fresh faces that will bring a lot of talent to the table along with some familiar starters such as Whittington and Worthy.

Texas finished up the 2022 season with a record of 8-5 (6-3 Big 12) following a frustrating seven-point loss to the No. 12 Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. Whittington and the Longhorns will look to compete for a Big 12 Championship with a lot of returning starters in the fold in 2023.