Alabama junior WR visits Ole Miss
Gadsden (Gadsden City), Ala. junior wide receiver prospect T.J. Worthy is yet to receive his first offer, but he's attracting national attention thanks to some strong summer camp performances.
The 6-foot-3, 180 pound prospect with 4.6 speed was in Oxford last weekend checking out Ole Miss when the Rebels and Crimson Tide played.
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"I liked it a lot," Worthy said on Tuesday evening. "It wasn't my first time to Ole Miss. I went over last summer and met with Coach (Terry) Price and Coach (Houston) Nutt and got a big tour where they showed me the campus and all the facilities and everything."
One thing that isn't helping Worthy when it comes to early Division I offers is playing in a run-oriented offense at Gadsden City.
"I had about 12 catches as a sophomore," he said. "My team just doesn't throw the ball. I think I've had three catches this year for 119 yards."
Participation in a couple of National Underclassmen Camps have allowed Worthy to get noticed by Rivals.com recruiting experts.
"He is coming out of a school that just produced two U.S. Army All-Americans. Not sure if he is at that level yet, but he is a legit prospect," wrote Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barry Every after watching Worthy in camp at Atlanta last June.
Worthy also attended camps last summer at Clemson, Auburn, and at UAB.
While schools haven't offered, Worthy is getting significant interest from several schools including Ole Miss, Stanford, Auburn Oregon, Virginia, Tennessee, and Northwestern.
Worthy said his connection to Ole Miss is Price, the Rebels' defensive line coach, who recruited Alabama for Auburn for ten years before returning to Ole Miss where he coached the same position from 1995-1998.
"Coach Price is just telling me to have a good year and they're going to evaluate me," Worthy said.
Worthy said his early favorites are Oregon, Stanford, and Northwestern.
His interest in schools with higher academic standards than most college is not without coincidence - his mother is a school teacher.
"She definitely keeps me focused on academics," Worthy said. "I'm taking the high school advanced program and could graduate early if I wanted to."
Worthy said he currently has a 2.8 GPA and expects that to improve in the coming months and made 17 on his ACT - which he took when he was in the eighth grade.
Rivals.com's Barry Every assessment of Worthy at the NUC National Ultimate 100:
ASSETS: He possesses above-average hands and body control.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: Worthy needs to work on getting up to full speed quicker off the snap of the ball.
WHAT WAS MOST IMPRESSIVE AT CAMP: Showed no fear during 7-on-7 of going over the middle in traffic and pulling down balls thrown a tad high.
CONCLUSION: Took another step this past weekend proving he has what it takes to play football at the DI level. Look for C-USA and Sun Belt Conference teams to be the first to extend offers.