What Happened to Tennessee Titans Star WR Xavier Restrepo's Face?

In the world of professional sports, football players become superstars in their own rights, often as famous as Hollywood heavyweights. And for many football players, their path to stardom often starts in high school.

When Tennessee Titans wide receiver Xavier Restrepo played for his college team, the Miami Hurricanes, it was clear that he would rise to the top quickly in the NFL.

Yet despite being known for his fancy feet on the gridiron, Xavier has a unique feature that becomes more noticeable after a hard game or practice. So what happened to his face? Here's what his mom has had to say about his unique facial feature.

Xavier has a noticeable feature on the side of his face that appears to be swelling or nerve damage at first glance. When asked about it in a Footballville interview, Xavier's mother Ashley Restrepo explained that it's due to the manner in which he came into the world.

When Xavier was first born, he had a small mark on his face that doctors told Ashley originally was a strawberry hemangioma, which Cleveland Clinic describes as a clump of blood vessels that form a noncancerous tumor beneath the surface of the skin.

However, as time went by, Ashley explained, it became clear that it was something more. She describes it as a "vascular malformation," likely caused by the forceps doctors used to help deliver Xavier at his birth.

Xavier's mother explains that exercise can cause the vascular tissue in the area to swell, and make it more noticeable. "Unfortunately, he lives with it. He goes through it."

She recalls being shocked when she first saw it, but expressed her pride in her son and his perseverance.

But Ashley isn't the only one with nice things to say about Xavier.

A former Hurricanes teammate, Cam Ward, joined Xavier on the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL draft, and he had some nice things to say about Xavier which were returned in spades.

When asked in an interview about working with Cam, Xavier said he could "go on and on," adding, "Dude hasn't switched with all the praise that he's been getting. [He] still praises the Lord, and he's a hard-working guy. He's contagious to be around ... Just looking forward to growing a relationship with him."

On the flip side, Cam said in a separate interview that with every team he visited ahead of the draft, he "pushed" for teams to consider Xavier. He added, "he's one of the best route runners in college football." He mused, "Why wouldn't I push for him?"

But despite Cam's casual defense of his teammate, it's clear that their respect for one another points to a strong professional relationship and a promising team-up to come in the NFL.

The duo will make a formidable team on the Titans, reworking some of their best college moments in the NFL. And with Cam's praise added to Xavier's mother's praise, Xavier's reputation as a great guy continues unchallenged.