‘Money Mike’ is NFL draft-ready. Sacramento-rooted Wortham is a versatile burner
Ben Noonan watched Michael Wortham compete in high school, recruited him hard, and then had him for two seasons at Sierra College in Placer County.
It was on the football field at the Rocklin junior college campus that Noonan as head coach was afforded an up-close peek at what Wortham can do. With the glee of knowing he had this game-breaker on his side, Noonan still marvels at Wortham.
“Lightning in a bottle,” Noonan said this week, the excitement clear in his voice. “He can make you miss him in a phone booth. Unreal.”
Wortham has, since his youth in North Highlands in the northern part of Sacramento County, been a sight to behold with the ball in his hands. Deemed too short and not thick enough by Division I college recruiters when he starred at quarterback for Center High School, Wortham’s football path continued at Sierra College — and now it has him on the doorstep of the NFL.
Wortham is on the draft radar this week as a projected seventh-round pick by scores of scouting sites because he can do two things especially well. He is versatile in that he can catch the ball, take handoffs or field punts or kickoffs. And he is exceptionally fast.
A consensus All-American receiver and return specialist in 2025 for the Montana Grizzlies of the Big Sky Conference, Wortham does not turn heads because he is 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, but rather for being that bolt of lightning in a bottle, a master of making others miss as he bolts downfield.
Wortham likes to say that he is “electric” as he reminds that for as fast as he is in a timed 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds), he is even faster with the ball in his hands.
“Always!” he said with a laugh. “Every time I break free, I’m thinking touchdown all the way. I believe in myself. I run hard and I ran fast, and there’s someone chasing you.”
Wortham said “versatility is my trait,” adding that playing quarterback in high school and in junior college gave him the unique vantage point of leader and playmaker. He is one of the most outstanding athletes and football players to compete for Center High, passing for 4,119 yards in 29 career games with 55 touchdowns to go with 1,555 yards rushing. He rushed for 17 scores as a senior, and his 99-yard fumble return in a game for a score is tied for the longest in regional history.
At Sierra College, Wortham earned All-American honors in 2022 after passing for 2,180 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushing for 845 and 10 scores in 11 games. He signed a scholarship package with Eastern Washington, where he earned second team All-Big Sky honors in 2023. He ranked second nationally in kickoff returns.
Wortham transferred to Montana for the 2024 season, when he earned second team All-American honors after compiling 1,615 yards of total offense, including kickoff returns, rushing attempts and as a receiver. He also had some snaps at quarterback, tossing two touchdown passes.
Last fall at Montana for a team that went 13-2, Wortham was even more prolific. He became a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, the Heisman Trophy equivalent for the Football Championship Subdivision level of the sport. He made All-American teams for special teams and for all-purpose play. He racked up 1,224 yards receiving, 345 yards rushing and 862 combined return yards to set a school record of 2,431 all-purpose yards, leaving him just 90 yards shy of the Big Sky record.
Wortham was selected to compete in the East-West Shrine Bowl all-star game in January, a meat-market of sorts for senior stars, and was the only receiver to be named to the East squad’s All-Practice Team to cap the week as he impressed with his hands and feet.
Wortham’s wife feeds football Jugs machine
Along the way, Wortham never forgot his roots. He was in regular contact with his parents and scores of aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom showed up last October at Hornet Stadium to see him do his thing.
In beating Sacramento State 49-35 to move to 8-0 on the season, Wortham had 238 yards of total offense, leading the team in rushing and receiving and with three total touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving. Said Grizzlies coach Bobby Hauck that night: “Mike was outstanding. He was all over the place. He just did everything. He made plays, a lot of plays.”
Wortham in recent months stopped by Sierra College to chat it up with Noonan, his former coach, and to keep fit with workouts. He brought his wife, Maria, and their young daughter, Malia, who just turned 2. Maria fed footballs in the Jug machine that spits them out like a rocket-armed quarterback, and Malia ran around like she owned the place.
It’s team first on the field and off of it, for Team Wortham.
“My wife, she’s a rock star,” Wortham said. “Super supportive. She knows how big this opportunity of the NFL is for me and for us. She does hair, the cut, trim, her own side hustle. She does my hair, does some of my tattoos, but I don’t get nails done, so none of that.”
Wortham wasn’t the stereotypical student-athlete at Montana. He had to grow up a bit faster.
“You have to learn to be a husband, learn to communicate, to be there for your wife as much as she is there for you, and now, I’m a father as well,” Wortham said,. “Now we’re teaching our daughter, this little human being, how to walk, how to talk. It’s such a blessing and so amazing.”
Said Noonan, “Mike’s not just a player. He’s a husband, a father, and he had good grades. For a lot of guys his age, this is the time of their life, and they’re partying. Not Mike.”
Wortham’s message to current Sierra players
Noonan asked his former pupil to speak to his Sierra College team. Some 75 players spilled into the Buzz Oates Stadium seats to listen to Wortham. He spoke glowingly about Noonan and the Juco route, that it can launch a bright future if players commit to it.
And he had a bigger message, too.
“I wanted the guys to know that you can do it from here, that you can play in college past here, and it’s not about the number of recruiting stars you have, it’s what you do with your ability,” Wortham said. “It’s what you do with the time that you put in. Have good character. Be a good student. It’s more than just football.”
He added, “I wanted to preach the message of, don’t let anyone doubt you and say you’re not big enough or fast enough. Show what you can do.”
And be open-minded, Wortham said. He wanted to play quarterback for the rest of his life but was convinced in quick order that his speed and burst makes him an all-around threat. So he switched positions to help the team and to help himself.
“Mike’s unreal,” Noonan said. “He’s really sudden. His movements are sudden, and his change of direction is second to none. He’s really shifty, fast and electric. When I watched him in high school, I saw that he was a dynamic competitor, a winner, and people liked being around him. Everything screamed leader to me. And he has that great smile and personality.”
The personality includes a free spirit who goes by “Money Mike” on his social media platforms. Money as in a playmaker, and money because he’s on the cusp of making a nice living for his football skills.
The first round of the draft starts 5 p.m. Thursday in Pittsburgh. The draft continues with rounds 2 and 3 on Friday, starting at 4 p.m., and it concludes Saturday with rounds 4-7, starting at 9 a.m. Undrafted players can sign NFL deals as rookie free agents, and many of them do so shortly after the draft ends.
Wortham, his wife, their daughter and a room full of family in Sacramento will sit anxiously.
“I’m excited, really excited,” Wortham said.