Northwestern's Worley picks Vols

Northwestern's Justin Worley, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound rising senior quarterback, can't sign a scholarship until February and commitments aren't binding. But he has made his choice and will play for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Worley visited his second choice, Notre Dame, earlier this week and decided he'd look better in orange and white, that it was time to learn the playbook and all the words to "Rocky Top,'' the Vols' fight song. The other school in his top three was LSU.

The Vols have two incoming freshman quarterbacks, Tyler Bray and Nash Nance.

"I knew that anywhere I'd go, I'd have to compete on a day-to-day basis so I don't worry about it,'' Worley said. "I got comfortable with the coaches and I like the Knoxville area. It was tough calling the other coaches and telling them I had chosen Tennessee, but when I looked at everything, it was the best fit for me.

"I liked ever school my parents and I visited, but I knew it would probably be Tennessee. Now I can put the recruiting process aside and focus on my senior season at Northwestern. We've been to the state two straight years. Our goal is to go back and get that ring.''

Kyle Richardson, the Trojans offensive coordinator, didn't hesitate to call Tennessee after Lane Kiffin packed his bag after just one year with the Volunteers and headed west to replace Pete Carroll at Southern Cal.

Kiffin and his staff were high on Worley and had put him at the top of their 2011 recruiting chart as the No. 1 quarterback target. Richardson wanted to make sure the new coaches knew of Worley's athletic abilities and exploits on the field.

So when Kiffin left, Richardson called an old friend, Terry Joseph, who he had coached with at Southwest Louisiana and had come to Tennessee with new coach Derek Dooley. Richardson told his friend that the new staff should keep their focus on Worley.

Maybe it was the call to his old coaching buddy who coaches defensive backs and is the Vols' recruiting coordinator. Maybe the new staff had no intentions of backing off Worley. Whatever the case, when the offer came, Worley accepted and made a verbal commitment Friday morning. Worley then informed Richardson and Northwestern coach Jimmy Wallace of his decision.

Both were delighted with the choice. Richardson taught Worley the "Air Raid'' offense which has allowed him to keep the football in the air. Worley holds every school passing record and several at the state level. In 2008, he threw for 3,641 yards and 50 touchdowns. In 2009, he had 4,366 yards and 42 TDs, totals of 8,007 yards and 92 touchdowns in two seasons.

Worley has led the Trojans to back-to-back Class AAAA state championship games. The Trojans lost to rival South Pointe two years ago, Worley's first as the starter, and last year to Berkeley.

"Justin is a good fit for Tennessee,'' Richardson said. "I was concerned when Kiffin left because his staff was very high on Justin. But when I talked to Terry, I told him Justin should stay at the top of their 2011 list and that they'd be getting a good kid as well as a very gifted quarterback.

"Justin likes Tennessee; wanted to go there. I sent their former QB coach David Reaves a video of Justin after his sophomore season. He called 30 minutes after watching the video and asked what Tennessee had to do to get him.''

There was speculation that Worley would sign with North Carolina. That rumor circulated because his parents -- Peyton and Angela Worley -- graduated from UNC. But neither pressured him and told him to make his choice and they would support it.

"It's really funny because before schools could recruit me I was a lock for North Carolina because of my parents,'' he said. "They never favored one school over another. They told me there was no wrong school because it would come down to the one I liked the most.

"I liked every school and also visited Florida State. But I was out there because they said they were going to sign one quarterback and got one of the other guys they were recruiting. But that still left me with good choices and I'll be happy at Tennessee.''

Worley has a 4.1 GPA and plans to major in sports administration.

This story was originally published July 3, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Northwestern's Worley picks Vols."