Chris Worley’s Path to Becoming Man in the Middle for Ohio State
The new Ohio State middle linebacker’s journey.
One of the more interesting storylines since the Ohio State spring practices began is that Chris Worley has been moved to middle linebacker. It sure has been an unusual path the undersized linebacker from Cleveland Glenville High School has been on to get to this point.
Worley was 6’2 and around 200 pounds when he enrolled at Ohio State in 2013. In an article I read in the Columbus Dispatch on signing day that year, it was said that Worley was fast at closing in on a ball carrier. I would say they nailed that assessment.
He was in the same class with another player of similar size and speed who was a star quarterback, defensive back and a great kick returner. His name was Darron Lee.
I watched Lee’s path because I followed him his senior year of high school. I was interested in Worley because he played for Ted Ginn Sr., so I knew he was a real football player.
I was shocked to see Lee listed as a linebacker and Worley at safety when the Ohio State roster came out in the fall. I knew both players would be redshirted their freshman seasons, but hoped one of them could bulk up to replace Ryan Shazier who was sure to turn pro after the season ended. Both of them did and that started a battle.
I couldn’t wait for the 2014 Ohio State spring game to see which player would earn the nod at the starting spot. Wanna talk about a draw!
I’m pretty sure each player had seven tackles that day, and both Lee and Worley were flying all over the field. It took until the beginning of the 2014 season for Lee to finally win the job.
Of course Lee went on to be a star and Worley was relegated to special teams and backup duty in which he performed well. I actually was glad to see Lee leave early for the NFL. First I was happy for Lee, but also because Worley would then get his chance to shine.
That he did. Worley’s stats last season were almost identical to Lee’s totals in 2015. Each had 4.5 tackles for loss, one interception and Worley’s 69 tackles were three more than Lee had the previous year.
Now Worley has moved into the middle linebacker spot replacing Raekwon McMillan. Just think, he started out as a safety for the Buckeyes and now he is manning the middle.
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I wasn’t concerned about whether Worley could play the position, but how he could hold up physically weighing only 230 pounds. But 247 Sports reported that Worley said he played last season at around 235 pounds instead of the listed 228, and now he is in the 240 pound range.
That’s good news, because while Ohio State has a few players with the potential to play in the middle, none have any experience to speak of. To have a fifth year senior with Worley’s talent playing in the middle will help solidify the linebacker group and the defense as a whole.
Most players on defense have to be concerned with their individual responsibilities, but the middle linebacker has to lead the entire defense as well. What better guy to lead the other players than someone who is in his fifth year in the program and has been around the block a time or two like Worley has.
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It has been an unusual path for the young man out of Cleveland Glenville, ending up playing middle linebacker for the Buckeyes. But Worley has faced every other challenge in his time at Ohio State head on, and excelled. I expect him to do so one more time as the ‘Man in the Middle’.