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| Chris Wormley |
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 290 lbs.
High school: Toledo (OH) Whitmer
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked Wormley #65 and said he would redshirt if possible. He tore his ACL in the pre-season and redshirted.
When Wormley hit campus last summer, he had impressive size for a freshman . . . despite the fact that he turned out to be 6'4" after his recruiting profiles listed him as tall as 6'7". The coaches talked about him like a kid who was going to see time as a freshman. Then August came around, he tore his ACL in practice, and it was all moot. He missed the season but recovered enough to participate in spring drills.
Now up to 290 lbs., Wormley seems to have jumped straight past his apprenticeship as a strongside end and looks like a straight-up defensive tackle. In the video clips that came out of the spring, I was concerned about his slowness off the ball. He seemed to be a half-step behind the other guys in drills, whether that was because of an inherent deficiency in quickness or a lag from the injury and his rehab. My biggest concern with him coming out of high school was his drive and consistency, so I won't believe he's a viable candidate for significant playing time until I see some explosiveness out of him. Regardless of what I think, however, the coaches seem to want him on the field in some capacity. Senior Jibreel Black looks like the front-runner for the 3-tech defensive tackle position, and redshirt freshman Willie Henry should provide some competition there, too. I expect Wormley to be less productive than those two while still getting some time in the rotation.
Prediction: Backup defensive tackle
I was wondering when we'd start seeing the D-linemen here. By my count, there are still nine/ten guys left (Washington, Henry, Pipkins, Godin, Heitzman, Ojemudia, Charlton, Beyer, Clark, and Black). Not sure what that means ... is it related to Mattison's preference to play a lot of guys there?
ReplyDeleteWell, Beyer's being considered as a linebacker, but yeah, there are going to be a lot of highly ranked defensive linemen because Mattison likes to rotate those guys. The corners, safeties, offensive linemen, and such don't rotate as much.
DeleteHe was playing DE in the spring game and Tom strobel was playing at DT wich suprised me
ReplyDeleteYeah what's your thoughts on that Magnus?
DeleteI don't think Strobel is a viable option at either position this year.
DeleteI think you covered this well - it's hard to figure out what it means when the coach's comments seemingly contrast with the injury and limited, but unimpressive, evidence. His recruiting profile also offered some mix messages.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of his ranking, he's one of those high variability guys that could be in the top 30 or in the 60s. My guess is he'll be end up being a key part of the rotation. At the 3 DL spots (not including WDE) you have Washington, Pipkins, and Black as locks plus 2 or 3 more in the rotation. Will Wormley be one of them? Guesswork for any of us. Most will include Heitzman, since he played last year (and may start). After that, you're talking mostly about freshman (redshirt or true). Henry is getting good buzz, but I'd still bet on Wormley playing ahead of him
Probably a good thing he is 6'4 rather than 6'7 for a DLmen.
ReplyDelete