Worthy has three early favorites
Jeff Worthy is now up to seven offers but three in particular stand out to the fast-rising La Habra (Calif.) Whittier Christian defensive tackle who was one of the more impressive prospects at the Los Angeles NIKE Camp.
In order, Nebraska, Boise State and Oregon State lead for Worthy, who said the Cornhuskers are on top because of coach Bo Pelini's success of developing NFL-caliber defensive tackles.
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"Coach Pelini has produced some really good defensive linemen and they're known for their defensive line," Worthy said.
"He produced (Glenn) Dorsey (at LSU) and then Ndamukong Suh, who are two really good defensive linemen. I think I could become one of those players for them at Nebraska."
Boise State has emerged as a frontrunner for Worthy, who finished with 139 tackles and 17 sacks in his junior season. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound prospect will visit with the Broncos this summer. The fact that Boise State will be high in the preseason rankings surely doesn't hurt.
"They're going to be very, very good," Worthy said. "They're going to have a good d-line and they're going to rock people's worlds."
Oregon State defensive line coach Joe Seumalo has impressed Worthy and that's one major reason why the Beavers made his top three. SMU, Arizona State, Washington State and Minnesota have also offered but Worthy is currently focused on those top three programs while not ruling any school out.
"They have a good coach and (Seumalo) came down and visited and watched practice and I got on the phone with him and he said our defense is on the other side of the offense," Worthy said.
"I like to play in the backfield and that's his concept. I like to hit the quarterback and I like to tackle for loss so I like his mentality."
Even though Worthy has seven offers and has formulated some favorites he's still planning a busy summer schedule. Worthy will camp at UCLA twice, the Bruins being a longtime favorite, along with stops at SMU, Boise State and the USC Rising Stars Camp in late June.