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Historically, the Miami Hurricanes and Alabama Crimson Tide have plenty in common. Dazalin Worsham knows all this.
Both have had multiple historical runs of dominance in the past 40 years. Both are on the short list of teams with five national championships. The two both have exactly eight former players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and consistently are among the schools with the most players in the NFL. On Friday, Worsham will commit to one of the two. Miami offers him something his hometown team doesn’t right now.
“I think he wants to be part of building something, and obviously Miami has a great history and great past,” said Josh Floyd, who coaches Worsham at Hewitt-Trussville in Alabama, “so I think he’s excited about trying to get them back going in that direction.”
Why Miami?
Worsham was once committed to Alabama. On Friday, he’s slated to make an oral commitment once again, and the final choice is coming down to the Hurricanes or the Crimson Tide. Miami’s situation — a rebuild now showing promise with a three-game winning streak — is uniquely appealing to Worsham, as is the coaching staff.
When Worsham was committed to the Crimson Tide, offensive coordinator Dan Enos was Alabama’s quarterbacks coach, so he knows what Enos can do when working at his best. When he came to Coral Gables for an official visit in June, Worsham got to know wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield well, so he has faith in the way he would be developed.
“The first thing was probably the relationship with Coach Enos, just since he had been committed to Alabama, and Coach Enos is proven to be a great offensive mind and has shown to throw the ball around quite a bit,” Floyd said. “I think that’s what initially started it, and then when he came down he just had a great time. I know he likes the receivers coach down there, also. He just had a great time on his trip.”
What does Worsham bring to Miami?
“The best thing is his route-running,” Floyd said. “He does a great job getting in and out of his breaks. He’s obviously a guy that can run and everything, beat people deep and all that, but I think what separates him from a lot of guys is just his route-running. And he’s just gotten better and better at that over the years.”
“I think he’s obviously an athletic kid, so that helps his route-running, but I think it’s just something he spends a lot of time on himself, too,” Floyd said. “We obviously try to do a great job coaching him, as well, but he’s kind of a guy that will spend a little bit on that in his own time and I think that’s what’s helped him with his craft over the years.”
So clearly Manny and the staff see him as a guy who will grind and put the time in to perfect his craft.