Worthington trimming his list

Athol Springs (N.Y.) St. Francis defensive end Doug Worthington has yet to narrow his list of schools from the 25 plus written offers he currently holds. Worthington, a 6-foot-7, 256-pound prospect has begun to eliminate a few schools as well as start thinking about which schools he plans to visit in the fall.

“I’ve eliminated Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina so far. I’m not going to go into detail as to why, but you have to start making cuts somewhere,” explained Worthington. “There are still a lot of schools on my mind right now. Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Michigan are just a few of them.”

While Worthington still has a ways to go in cutting his list down to a manageable number, he does have some idea which conferences he might like to be a part of.

“I really want to play in one of three conferences,” admitted Worthington. “I like the new ACC as well as the SEC and Big Ten. Those three conferences in my mind are the best in college football.”

Worthington plans to take a series of unofficial visits during the fall to visit schools within driving distance for him as well as utilize his five official visits to check out some of the schools a little further away.

“Right now, I think I’m going to take official visits to Ohio State, Georgia and LSU,” said Worthington. “Virginia Tech could be a fourth visit, but I’m not sure just yet. I’d like to set up visits to schools during big game weekends so I can get a chance to see two schools on one trip, like the Alabama-Auburn game. I plan to make unofficial visits to schools like Boston College and Penn State where my dad and I can get in the car and go.”

As a junior, Worthington posted 74 tackles and seven sacks earning first team all-Western New York honors and second team all-state honors. Do any schools stand out in regards to putting forth the most effort to obtain his services?

“Ohio State is right up there, they treat me real good,” explained Worthington. “I’d say Penn State and Wisconsin are also up there battling. There are a lot of schools that show a lot sincerity, and I like that. The hand-written letters really catch my eye as opposed to the typed letters on letterhead that probably go out to the masses.”

Worthington and his teammates began practice this week and will kick off the season the first weekend in September.