WR Dazalin Worsham’s hip feels ‘great’ a year after surgery. Can he help Miami in 2020?
By the massive standards he set for himself, Dazalin Worsham had an underwhelming senior season at Hewitt-Trussville in Alabama.
As a sophomore, the four-star wide receiver caught 70 passes for 856 yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior, he was even better, catching 87 passes for 1,022 yards and 13 touchdowns.
His junior feats were even more impressive because of what he was going through. The All-American wideout spent the entire season playing through a hip injury, then immediately had offseason hip surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip. He didn’t even start running at full speed again until just before his senior season began.
“I started back running full speed just a couple weeks before the season started,” Worsham said last Thursday after the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, “so just conditioning throughout the season, getting back in shape throughout the season to get back to where I am now.”
Worsham, who will early enroll with the Miami Hurricanes next week, capped his senior year last week on one of the biggest stages in high school football.
The 6-foot, 185-pound senior suited up for Team Savage, coached by Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed, in the Under Armour Game at Camping World Stadium, primarily lining up in the slot in a 30-24 loss. Although he was rarely targeted and didn’t catch a pass, Worsham is no longer feeling any discomfort in his hip.
“It feels great. It don’t hurt anymore,” Worsham said. “My junior season I played through it, it was just hurting every game.”
Even with the constant discomfort, Worsham put together one of the best careers in the history of his state, and still caught 54 passes for 427 yards and six touchdowns as a senior.
Worsham, who’s the No. 57 wide receiver in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2020, finished his time in Trussville as his school’s all-time leader in receptions and eighth on Alabama’s all-time list. He was once committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide before Miami pulled him out of his home state.
Part of Worsham’s initial attraction to the Hurricanes was the presence of Dan Enos. The former offensive coordinator was instrumental to Alabama’s recruitment of the receiver when he was the Crimson Tide’s quarterbacks coach in 2018. So he helped Miami bring Worsham down to Coral Gables for an official visit last year during his brief stint with the Hurricanes, then helped secure his commitment a few months later. Worsham signed his national letter of intent in the early signing period last month.
Enos’ lone season in Miami was massively disappointing, though, and the Hurricanes fired him following the day after their 14-0 loss to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the Independence Bowl last month. Worsham isn’t too upset about the change.
“I’m happy with whatever makes the offense works better,” Worsham said two days before Miami announced the hiring of offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.
Worsham should have a chance to get on the field early, too. Wide receivers Mike Harley, Mark Pope and Dee Wiggins all have starting experience, but there are no proven backups behind them. Worsham could be an option in the slot as the Hurricanes play with a faster tempo and create more touches for everyone on offense. Worsham said he hopes to bring “explosive plays and swag.”
At his final stop before going to Miami, Worsham got useful final lessons from two Hurricanes legends. Reed was his team’s coach for the All-America Game and Reggie Wayne was his wide receivers coach. Those two added an extra layer of usefulness to his week in Central Florida.
Said Worsham: “It was just good getting knowledge from two Miami legends coaching me.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 1:23 PM.
