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DT Doug Worthington (Official Thread)

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Worthington is exactly what Tressel is seeking....SPEED and SIZE! Read today he is playing at St. Ignatius September 25, then at Cincy St. X later this season, so the competition seems better than adequate and some Buckeye fans (and OSU recruit Ron Schoenhoft) may get a close-up look at Mr. Worthington!
 
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I am more excited about Doug Worthington than I was with Mark Sanchez because I love they way the defense can chance the game...not that a good QB can not. Personnally, if I had one schollie left, I would have offered Doug over Sanchez...100% honest! Welcome to the Buckeye Land, Doug!!! Can't wait to see you in Scarlet & Gray and knock down those scum-bags. I hope you can make it to The Game this year and get a foretaste of what's to come!!!
 
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Wow! Are we getting jaded, Buckeye Planet? I was out of town for five days and Doug Worthington drops all the way down to page two. Well, he's back on page one now ...bump.

Doug: Great choice, for a whole bunch of reasons. Great school, terrific coach and teammates, national stage to display your skills and a yearly shot at the National Championship. But the greatest thing about your choice, which you can't really understand until you get to tOSU, is the incredibly close bonds you will feel, for the rest of your life, as a member of the Buckeye football family.

Congratulations, Doug, and welcome to the Horseshoe!
 
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Here ya go MW- Buffalo paper article on the commitment

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040920/1044579.asp

Worthington to Ohio State
By KEITH McSHEA
News Sports Reporter
9/20/2004

There was no last-minute upset in the race to land Doug Worthington.
The St. Francis senior football standout, who entered the season saying that Ohio State was at the top of the list of several college football powers recruiting him, has verbally committed to Ohio State.

"It was my top choice - it had everything I wanted academically, socially and for football," said Worthington, a 6-foot-7, 257-pound defensive lineman who was an All-Western New York first-team selection and a second-team all-state pick in Class AA last year. "Other schools couldn't touch their facilities and it's a great coaching staff. And the recruiting class for 2005 is going to be phenomenal. I feel like I can have a family there. Everything sounded so good and the program was so right."

Worthington accepted Ohio State's scholarship offer after attracting attention from a who's who list of college football powers. Penn State, Tennessee, Wisconsin, LSU, Florida, Maryland and Pittsburgh all offered him scholarships.

Worthington said that he wanted to accept a scholarship offer now so he didn't have to worry about getting injured this season for St. Francis (3-0), the top-ranked large school in Western New York.

"I just feel assured because you've got that scholarship if anything happens," said Worthington, who has great speed (4.7-second 40-yard dash) to go along with his size. "Now I can lay my body on (the) line and play 100 percent and not worry about anything."

Plenty of Ohioans will have an eye on Worthington when St. Francis, ranked seventh in the East by USA Today, plays at St. Ignatius in Lakewood, Ohio, Saturday night. St. Ignatius (3-0) is ranked seventh in the Midwest.

College coaches are prohibited from commenting on recruits until the national signing date of Feb. 2, 2005.

"How can you go wrong choosing Ohio State? They battle for the national championship every year," said St. Francis coach Jerry Smith. "The biggest thing we were concerned with was the chance of injury, because some guys are going after his knees."
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article on this weekends game

"It's tough to run against them, they're big up front," said O'Connor, "and (Doug) Worthington, you try to game-plan around him and maybe run to the other side."
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"How can you go wrong choosing Ohio State? They battle for the national championship every year," said St. Francis coach Jerry Smith.
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It's mighty nice hearing words like these coming for a NY coach. I happen to be a big proponent of tOSU recruiting in the Northeast -- it's where nearly half the kids in America attend high school and tOSU is the perennial NC contender that is nearest their homes -- and think that's one of the reasons JT brought in Coach Hazel. It looks like that strategy is paying off, with Worthington and Malcolm Jenkins already in the fold and several other gems still listing tOSU among their favorites.

Thanks for the update,Buckskin86. Worthington is a great addition and continued success in the Northeast augurs well for the future.
 
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Not to split hairs, but I doubt half of the high school kids in the US are in the Northeastern states. The four largest states are CA, TX, Fl, and NY. Only NY, and PA are the only NE states with large populations.
 
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You're right, Stow. Even though I said "nearly half", I'm still exaggerating somewhat.

But take a look at this map and you'll see my point. If you let me define 'northeast' a little loosely -- to include Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and northern North Carolina -- what I am saying is that tOSU is the closest perennial national power to many, many high school players. Since being 'closer-to-home' is important to lots of recruits and their families, I simply believe tOSU should exploit its geography. With Penn State on the ropes, now is the perfect time to build recruiting bases in the Northeast, while still maintaining solid efforts in Florida and California.

Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland and North Carolina State are currently mining the NE very effectively ...and tOSU should be able to recruit well against those programs.
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http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040921/1009884.asp

Frannies football flying high
By KEITH McSHEA

9/21/2004

It's been quite the week for St. Francis football.
The Red Raiders earned a spot in USA Today's East Region poll, moved to 3-0 with a 21-0 win over St. Joe's, and saw senior defensive end Doug Worthington make a verbal commitment to Ohio State. This week is a big one, too: St. Francis plays another nationally ranked opponent, St. Ignatius, Saturday night in Cleveland.

"Our program is right where it needs to be," said Jerry Smith, St. Francis' coach and athletics director. "We were sitting at Ilio DiPaolo's (after Saturday's win over St. Joe's) and I was telling the guys that this is what we talked about when we couldn't get into the section (Section VI) eight or nine years ago: we might as well play the best we can find.

"We started doing it in wrestling, and what happened was that when you played the best teams, eventually the kids step up to that level. Now, what's happened is, kids are coming to our school who want to be at that level."

St. Francis' appearance in the USA Today poll marks the first time a Western New York team has been ranked since Lancaster reached No. 8 in the East in October 2001. The Red Raiders debuted at No. 7 last week and moved up to No. 6 Monday. The newspaper has four 10-team regional rankings.
"The kids have worked hard for it," said Smith. "It's the first time in our history (we've been ranked), so hopefully we can keep that reputation in there."

Saturday's matchup between St. Francis and St. Ignatius - ranked seventh in the Midwest - is the biggest regular-season football game for a Western New York team in recent history.

"I think we've already arrived at where we wanted to take the program," said Smith. "The next thing is to be the best at that level. We've got a lot of work to do to do that."

Radio road trip

Springville's WSPQ, which broadcasts a high school football "Game of the Week" along with all Springville and Pioneer games, will hit the road to Cleveland along with St. Francis for Saturday night's game. The game will be available at 1330 AM and via www.WNYwired.net.

"It's been a long time since a highly regarded local team has played a game of national significance like this," said Brian Ackley, who is in his fifth year broadcasting the games with Ric Dimpfl.

A joint effort by WSPQ, St. Francis and several local sponsors made the broadcast possible. The station also will broadcast St. Francis' game at St. Xavier in Cincinnati on Oct. 16.
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Hopefully someone can give BP a report on the upcoming St. Francis games against their Ohio opponents.
 
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welcome aboard young man.....you just made a great life-long decision to be a buckeye....


this quote from his coach is scary though:
said St. Francis coach Jerry Smith. "The biggest thing we were concerned with was the chance of injury, because some guys are going after his knees."
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St. Francis hoping to be king of the road
By MARY JO MONNIN
News Sports Reporter
9/23/2004
John Hickey/Buffalo News
Zak Kedron and St. Francis will be tested this week.

St. Francis has been waiting for this game. It's the one the Red Raiders have talked about during summer workouts, on the way home from passing league games and while sitting together in the school cafeteria.
On Saturday at 7 p.m., St. Francis will be in Cleveland playing one of the nation's most accomplished programs.

St. Ignatius, the team with three national titles and nine Division I state titles, will host St. Francis at Byers Field, located in the suburb of Parma, Ohio. Tickets have been selling all week at $6 and a crowd of 8,000 is expected.

The Wildcats are Cleveland's adopted team of sorts with a huge adult following. The team used to play at 8,000-seat Lakewood Field, but the demand for seats was so strong that it relocated to the 15,000-seat Byers Field last year.

Both teams are ranked in USA Today's Super 25 regional rankings, released Monday. St. Francis (3-0) was No. 6 in the East Regional while St. Ignatius (4-0) was No. 7 in the Midwest.

"It's one of the biggest games of the season," said St. Francis tight end Doug Worthington. "If we work hard, and we fight this whole week, we can shock the United States because nobody thinks we're going to beat these guys."

St. Ignatius has seven graduates in the National Football League, including two All-Pros: Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Chris Hovan and New Orleans Saints center Le'Charles Bentley. Former University at Buffalo standout Drew Haddad, a member of the Buffalo Bills' practice squad, is also a former Wildcat.

In its previous two meetings with St. Ignatius, St. Francis was trounced, 54-7 in 1999 and 56-0 in 1997. This year the Wildcats have won their first four games by 43-6, 34-7, 26-6 and 33-14.

St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle, in this 21st season, predicts this year's game will be much closer.

"They are an excellent running football team with a big offensive line, so they will have a size advantage," said Kyle. "I think they've improved quite a bit, and we know they're 3-0 playing some good teams, and they're ranked in the region. It's going to be a good battle."

On film, Kyle said he was impressed with Worthington, who verbally committed to Ohio State last week, and senior running back Zak Kedron, who has 11 touchdowns and 671 yards in his first three games.

"The tailback (Kedron) showed some good quickness and speed. And they'll throw, but they like like to run," Kyle said. The game can be heard at 1330 AM and via www.WNYwired.net.
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http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20040923/2000925.asp
 
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