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Eastern Washington University Football

‘No. 6 does all kinds of things’: EWU QB Michael Wortham has been especially explosive on kickoff returns

Eastern Washington’s Michael Wortham celebrates after a kick return against Montana during a Sept. 28 game in Cheney.  (James Snook/For The Spokesman-Review)
By Dan Thompson The Spokesman-Review

Michael Wortham goes through something like a mental checklist whenever he decides whether to return a kickoff.

If it’s too close to the sideline, that’s probably a “no.” Those put his blockers in a bad position.

Too much hang time also is a problem, as it lets the coverage team advance farther down the field before Wortham catches the football.

If the ball goes out of the end zone, well, there’s nothing he can do about that.

On Saturday against Idaho, when Wortham declined – or simply couldn’t – return the first five kickoffs, he was ready for the sixth, which he advanced from the Eastern Washington 5-yard line to its 38.

Then came the sixth, the big one, which he caught about 7 yards deep in the end zone and brought all the way back for his first kickoff return touchdown and EWU’s first since 2019.

“If I hit the front side, then I had a chance,” Wortham said Monday. “Instinct told me to keep going and trust my gut.”

Following his instincts has led to plenty of football success for Wortham, the player who more than perhaps anyone else in the Big Sky Conference embodies the moniker “slash.”

He’s a senior now, and these four final games of Eastern Washington’s season – starting Saturday in Cheney against second-ranked, unbeaten Montana State (8-0, 4-0 Big Sky) – will be the last of his college career.

But there’s not a head football coach in the Big Sky who hasn’t mentioned him at least by number – 13 last year, 6 this year – if not by name when talking about how a team prepares to play Eastern Washington (2-6, 1-3).

“… and then No. 6 does all kinds of things,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said during his Monday news conference as he highlighted players on EWU’s offense. “They list him as a quarterback, but he essentially plays running back. He returned a kick for a touchdown the other night.”

Teams have limited Wortham’s contributions on offense the past few weeks. The kickoff return touchdown marked the first time he’s scored since Sept. 7 against Drake and the first time he’s directly contributed to a score since throwing a touchdown pass against Nevada on Sept. 21.

But there’s no denying his impact on special teams. No one in the country, at any level of college football, has more kickoff return yards than he does this season (821). At the FCS level, no one else has more than 557.

Wortham has returned 27 kickoffs, four more than anyone else in the FCS. But his average is still fourth best nationally (30.4 yards per return), and the three above him have returned seven, 10 and 13 kicks each.

“Mike has a green light every time,” EWU special teams coach Danny McDonald said. “(On Wortham’s touchdown) he caught it 7 yards deep. That’s a testament to him trusting the guys in front of him to be able to take it out that deep.”

A new position

Wortham joined the Eagles before the 2023 season and did so expecting to primarily be a quarterback.

“They told me I’d have a fair shot to compete (at quarterback) and do what I’m capable of doing,” Wortham said.

At Sierra (California) College, he’d been capable of quite a lot. As a sophomore in 2022 he threw for 2,180 yards and 18 touchdowns plus seven interceptions. He also ran 133 times for 845 yards and 13 scores. He did not catch a pass that year.

As a freshman at Sierra, Wortham was the backup quarterback and didn’t touch the ball much, attempting 15 passes and rushing 24 times. He also returned one punt and fair-caught a handful more. But he was hardly the primary return man he became at Eastern.

It wasn’t until spring ball of 2023 at Eastern that Eagles coaches brought up the idea to the new transfer Wortham.

“I was in the middle of fighting for a position, and you guys wanted me here for quarterback, but let’s try it,” Wortham said. “I wanted to be on the field, and I know I can make somebody miss.”

In 27 games at Center High School in Antelope, California, Wortham had thrown for 4,119 yards and run for 1,555 yards while accounting for 72 touchdowns. He wasn’t asked to return kicks there, either. No team would risk a starting quarterback like that.

This role at Eastern was something of a change. But it wasn’t an ego check, he said.

“You come in, and everyone has a position they want, but it wasn’t my first rodeo at this,” Wortham said, referring to how he had to find ways to get on the field as a freshman at Sierra College.

“I’ve got to make something happen, no matter what position I’m at,” he said.

In 11 games last season, Wortham rushed 43 times for 269 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 57 yards, and occasionally he threw the ball, completing 4 of 7 attempts for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Through eight games this year, Wortham has more catches (19 for 147 yards) and just as many completions (4 of 6 for 44 yards and two touchdowns). He’s a touch behind his pace in carries, with 27 for 111 yards and two scores.

But as a returner, he has become an even greater threat. Last year, he returned 26 kickoffs for 736 yards, which was the sixth most in a single season in program history until he passed himself on the list this season with the touchdown return against Idaho.

Vernon Williams holds the program record with 973 kickoff return yards in 1988. Williams’ 37 returns that year are also a program record.

Wortham’s current pace, if continued, would easily push him past both those totals. He needs two return touchdowns to match the program single-season record of three, previously accomplished by Bashir Levingston, in 1998, and Jesse Hoffman, in 2010.

Wortham’s kickoff return average (30.4 yards), if sustained, would rank fourth on Eastern’s single-season record list, and his career average (29.4) would rank second.

“It’s awesome when you have a return guy like Michael Wortham,” McDonald said. “But the guys on that unit are busting their butts. It’s really the whole unit that’s doing awesome.”

It’s also not just been the kickoff return that has played well this year for the Eagles.

They also rank second in the conference in kickoff coverage as Jackson Cleaver – who is 2 for 3 on surprise onside kicks – has booted 26 of 41 kickoffs for touchbacks.

That’s a higher percentage than all but three other Big Sky teams: Northern Colorado (19 of 23), Northern Arizona (35 of 48) and Montana State (55 of 59). The last in that list suggests Wortham might not get many opportunities to bring back kicks Saturday against the Bobcats, but then Wortham isn’t automatically deterred if he catches the ball while standing in his end zone.

He’s also not deterred by the team’s 2-6 record or the fact that his role on this team isn’t that of the star quarterback he was in high school and at Sierra College.

“Our record is what it is. It’s not the best,” Wortham said. “… I just want to embrace this moment and acknowledge my blessings through my whole career. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to have another chance to compete.

“All these moments, I’m just trying to capture all this before it’s all gone. After this season, there’s no more going back to college football.”