Worthys dream is coming true

Jeff Worthy grew up loving UCLA and wanting to play for the Bruins but now that Nebraska has offered and other schools are getting involved the La Habra (Calif.) Whittier Christian defensive tackle has a lot of thinking to do.

"Hopefully UCLA is next," Worthy said. "I really want to go there. I always wanted to be a Bruin but all these other schools in different conferences want me so now I'm kind of thinking about moving away and going to play for a Big 12 school like Nebraska. That's a legit school right there."

The tradition at Nebraska mainly stands out to Worthy, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound powerhouse who was one of the top defensive linemen at the recent Los Angeles NIKE Camp. He finished with 137 tackles and 19 sacks last season. The Cornhuskers' coaching staff also stands out, especially what they told Worthy when they offered.

"That's all they have out there is football, football, football," Worthy said. "To go play for a school that has that much tradition would be an honor.

"I got the e-mail and I called the coach and he said I reminded him of Suh a lot, Ndamukong Suh, and I was like no way. That's the guy I want to play like. I guess I showed it on film."

Worthy, who also has an offer from Southern Methodist, still wants to hear more from UCLA and hopefully get an offer soon. He grew up a fan of the Bruins and playing close to home might make sense.

"They have a lot of tradition and it's Bruin Nation," Worthy said. "I've always grown up knowing UCLA, they were good, the rivalry with USC, I've always wanted to be a part of that. They've always been that school for me but now there are other schools looking at me and I have a big decision to make."

Worthy's decision could get tougher because coaches from Iowa, Notre Dame and Hawaii are expected to visit his school this month to watch him work out.

That could lead to more offers and further complicate his decision-making process. Arkansas, TCU and Southern Cal are also listed as schools of interest on his Rivals.com database page. More interest could come this summer.

These are not troublesome developments for Worthy. It's a dream come true, something he's worked for all his life - to play big-time college football.

"I've dreamt of this day since I was a freshman in high school," Worthy said.

"I never thought it would happen but hard work and you put your name out there and colleges come knocking at your doorstep. It's really exciting. I'm stoked. It's my dream to play college football so it's very, very exciting for me."