Worley leaves Northwestern in glory
Northwestern senior quarterback Justin Worley found out last Friday that he had been named the 2010-11 Gatorade South Carolina Football Player of the Year, then went out to lead his team to a state championship.
It can't get much better than that.
Worley, who has committed to play for the Tennessee Volunteers next year, closed out his high school career with 13,385 yards passing and 157 touchdowns. He finished this season with 5,315 yards and a state-record 64 touchdown passes. His Northwestern team was 15-0 this season and won the Class AAAA Division II state championship with a 42-10 victory over Greenwood on Dec. 3.
"I am still excited and humbled every time I win an award. That comes from coach Wallace and my parents," Worley said. "This one is big deal because it is statewide and it's not just for breaking Northwestern records. I'm happy to win because it has to do with character and there were a lot of deserving players that could have won it."
The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. He is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award.
Worley joins an elite alumni association of past state award winners in 12 sports, including Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.), Wes Welker (1999-00, Heritage Hall HS, Okla.), Terrell Suggs (1999-00, Hamilton HS, Ariz.), Anquan Boldin (1998-99, Pahokee HS, Fla.) and Jerome Bettis (1989-90, Mackenzie HS, Mich.).
Worley has maintained a 4.07 GPA. A devoted member of his church community, he has volunteered locally as a guest speaker on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and participated in food and clothing drives for area homeless.
"Justin Worley is an outstanding quarterback," South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Executive Director Shell Dula said.
"He's in the top 1 percent of the players they've ever had there, and that's saying something."
Worley will graduate from Northwestern in January and enroll at Tennessee in the spring.
It was just three years ago when Worley made his varsity debut in the Trojans' season-opener at District Three Stadium against Goose Creek. He remembers it well
"The first drive started at (the) 1. I threw six touchdown passes and had more than 300 yards. I also had three interceptions but we won 42-21," Worley said. "I remember them all.
"As offense we didn't go out and say we wanted to break records. We wanted to score as many points as possible to win games and win a state championship."
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in each state and the District of Columbia in high school football and several other boys and girls sports. The program awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.
The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of prep sports journalists to determine state winners in each sport.
Worley joins recent Gatorade South Carolina Football Players of the Year Marcus Lattimore (2009-10 & 2008-09, Byrnes) and Da'Quan Bowers (2007-08, Bamberg-Ehrhardt) among the state's list of former award winners.
Worley is the third Northwestern player to win the award joining Dee Feaster (1994-95) and Jeff Burris (1989-90). He is the first player from the Rock Hill area to win since Rock Hill's Chris Hope (1997-98).
Worley will be playing in the Shrine Bowl Game on Dec. 17th in Spartanburg.
This story was originally published December 7, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Worley leaves Northwestern in glory."