Chris Wormley Profiled
Ryan Autullo of The Toledo Blade has a two part profile of the Whitmer HS football team.
Part 1 has good insights into the type of program that's produced Kevin Koger and Chris Wormley.
Part 2 has what may be new details about Wormley's recruiting.
"Chris Wormley, you're the best D-end in America," [Whitmer football coach Joe] Palka said in front of the team. "We can't block you."
Actually, Wormley is anywhere from the 16th to the 22nd best defensive end in the country, depending on who's list one looks at. But Wormley's three to four-star rating doesn't tell the whole story.
Those who slot a recruit at a certain ranking like to look at a prospect's 40-yard time and bench press, but above all else, they want to see which schools have offered him a scholarship. Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee all offered Wormley, a rarity that schools from the Southeastern Conference would poke their head up north to recruit a prospect when there is an abundance of talent nearby. Wormley declined their overtures almost immediately, telling Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Will Muschamp he wants to stay in the Midwest for college. Michigan fans will have him on their side next fall.
Wormley, private and humble, never informed analysts that these three programs... offered him a scholarship. Based on Wormley's body of work in the first three days of practice, one thing is obvious: there's no way 20 senior defensive ends living in this country are better than him. He destroys the right tackle on almost every play, sometimes using technique over power, and other times effortlessly shoving the blocker to the side.
A quick check of Wormley's Rivals and Scout profiles confirms that the Tide, Gators and Vols are not listed as having offered Wormley.
"He's not just talented and big, he's coachable and smart," defensive coordinator Greg Kubicki said of Wormley. "As talented as he is, his technique is pretty damn good too."
Wormley's chest and back extend forever, a physique 99 percent of grown men will never achieve. His hands will engulf yours, and his feet have sat in size 18 shoes since eighth grade. Chris Wormley is a man child. Better yet, Wormley is a man among manchildren.
When Wormley did make his college choice, selecting Michigan last Sunday, he did so before camp started so as not be a distraction to his teammates. "I'm hard pressed to find a better guy than Wormley," Palka said.
Sounds like he'll fit right in at Michigan.
there's no way 20 senior defensive ends living in this country are better than him. Go blue!
Without a doubt my favorite recruit in this class. I think the sky is the limit with what he can achieve. This is one of those recruits that the analysts have missed on in my opinion. Thankfully, none of that matters once you arrive on campus.
It's crazy how professional HS football has gotten. Sounds like Chris may be about to finish on a high note . . .
I played at Whitmer ~ 10 years ago. It was a big deal when the rust covered lockers got painted. Glad to see things have changed in that area, I've heard it's all been funded by boosters, fundraising, etc... I hope that's true, because I know the district wasn't in the best shape financially when I was there either.
It was never like that back in the day when I was in HS (late 1970s).
Makes me wonder how long it will be before we allow outstanding HS players to forego their senior seasons and jump right into college!!!
August 8th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^
Now lets see him dominate his Sr year and rise up the rankings
August 8th, 2011 at 10:03 PM ^
This is the guy that can be a dominate force in a couple of years. I just hope he develops a nasty streak before he gets to campus. I think Mattison and Hoke will light a fire under this guy. If his motivation and motor is on point he could develop into a Woodley down the road and man o'man do I miss me some Woodley.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:07 PM ^
I'm so glad to hear that our recruits are not only great football players but great people. Many of these kids have way more maturity than I had when I was a senior in HS.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:10 PM ^
So he did have offers from Bama and Fla...
<br>Wormley is one of my favorite recruits in this class because of his ridiculous ceiling (aka, non-existent), but honestly I kind of wished he would have reported those offers just for my own selfish reasons (aka gloating). But I think the humility will serve him, and the team much better in the end.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^
thats a real bitch,lol. I still dont understand rivals 3 star rating...
August 8th, 2011 at 10:21 PM ^
Hopefully that will change now that they actually have a Midwest recruiting analyst
August 8th, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^
Doubt it. Helmholdt is down on Wormley so far, and who is Rivals new Midwest analyst? Helmholdt. But I think he gets a fourth star if he has a decent senior year.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
Being underrated always helps a player. He wants to prove himself more, and it gets into opponents' heads when he outperforms them. Players usually say they "don't pay attention" to things like that, but they do. It also makes the coaching staff look better when they "develop a three-star."
The most important things are how the staff sees him, and how hard he works. The rest will take care of itself.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:34 AM ^
GREAT find and as always another quality contribution from MGoShoe.
TY!
Size 18 shoes since 8th grade..
You know what big feet mean....big ass 3-Tech!
August 8th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
He never told the service about the offers? Seems like a extremely humble guy....
August 8th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
The Toledo City League (well that's gone now but the Three Rivers Conference) is a damn tough league. Whitmer will probably win the conference.
(I do hate Whitmer though, they're my school's biggest rival).
August 8th, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
I can't wait to read his stats in The Blade.. I'm predicting 15 sacks during the regular season.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
Duane Long, etc. have him ranked as one of the top players in Ohio. We may not like their allegiance to OSU, but those guys don't joke around when it comes to scouting Ohio football. I'll take their opinion over ESPN's any day. If I had to bet five dollars, I'd say that this kid will turn out to be one of the most under-ranked kids Michigan has ever picked up (assuming his national rankings hold firm).
August 8th, 2011 at 11:30 PM ^
Any way we could get rivals to add these offers? Obviously chris doesn't care which is very humble but just for all of us who'd like to see him get the rankings he deserves (and boost our class ranking even higher).
August 8th, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
At all.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
unless recruits like to look at class rankings and want to join up with other top talent. I don't have any idea if they do that, though.
August 9th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
Would be if he was ranked a little higher...we might really get some big time players to commit then...
August 8th, 2011 at 11:40 PM ^
I highly doubt he will be the University of Michigan's most underrated player. He is still rated as a good player although not a top, elite level player. I am sure there are many players in the history of the program who were rated lower and will perform better than Wormley. That said, I think he will be a great player and could contribute right away next season.
August 8th, 2011 at 11:58 PM ^
But a guy who's a three-star on Rivals who becomes a great player and who contributes right away as a freshman would be pretty rare. That wouldn't make him as under-ranked as Mike Hart (given their position rankings), but it would put him in the conversation.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
I see Harris as a different type of underrated guy. You could argue that at the time he was rated, he wasn't underrated, because it took him awhile to develop. but Hart was clearly underrated as he was awesome starting with his freshman year. We can only hope Wormley is as underrated as Mike Hart.
August 9th, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^
Right away though.
August 9th, 2011 at 12:05 AM ^
I agree - when I see Ohio gurus, they have spoken pretty highly of Chris, despite the fact that they pretty well considered him lost from the onset. If Duane is this high on a Michigan player, there just might be something to it . . .
August 9th, 2011 at 12:22 AM ^
Nuff said
not a low ranked recruit at all. He was a 4 star all-around.
August 8th, 2011 at 11:43 PM ^
Has Wormley participated in any camps this summer (or last)? That also could help explain why he's sort of flying under the radar these days.
Don't really know or care, I just know he didn't fly under Michigan's Radar.
It sounds like we're buliding a pipeline at Whitmer with Koger and now Wormley.
August 9th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^
I love that line! Sounds like Wormley has a huge upside once he gets to U-M and get's the great D-line coaching from Hoke & Mattison, plus the weight program. Also, he'll be challenged a lot more day to day physically in practice. It must be hard for dominant athletes like Chris in high school to constantly play at their highest level. He's just not being challenged physically very hard most of the time. Still, I can see him coming in and working into the rotation his freshman year.
August 11th, 2011 at 9:23 PM ^
Defense will be epic!