As Virginia Tech fans, we’ve been spoiled with some great defensive ends: guys that may not have gone on to NFL greatness (and some who have), but guys that left their mark on a program that prides itself on defense. From Bruce Smith to Chris Ellis, it seems that Tech always has a tenacious pass rusher on that side of the ball. Last season, the Hokies saw several new stars emerge, and the arguably the brightest (and one we’d love to focus on after “The ACL Injury”) was Jason Worilds. Worilds didn’t wait long to make a name for himself in 2008, and despite playing with a badly separated shoulder for most of the season, he was the most disruptive member of the Hokies’ front seven. This offseason, following surgery, we’ve seen several comparisons drawn between Worilds and guys like Darryl Tapp and Corey Moore. Even Mr. Lunchpail himself decided to draw the comparison in an interview with Kyle Tucker of the Virginian-Pilot on Thursday:
“He’s explosive. That’s where I compare him to Corey. But he’s more flexible, more athletic than Corey. He’s like Darryl Tapp that way. So he’s kind of a mix of the two. He’s 258 pounds. Corey was 230 at best. Darryl was in that 250-260 range. Both were explosive. They both had that great first step, which Jason has. And I made that comparison because I think he’s a kid who can handle that. I’m not blowing smoke.”
So exactly how do these guys stack up against one another? Worilds only has one year of starting experience, but I thought it would be interesting to compare their stats and see what we might get out of #6 this fall.
First Year Starting:
| Player | Season/Class | GP | Tackles (solo) | TFL | Sacks | Blocked Kicks | Forced Fumbles |
| Jason Worilds | 2008/r-Soph. | 13 | 62 (37) | 18.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Darryl Tapp | 2004/Jr. | 13 | 60 (26) | 16.5 | 8.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Corey Moore* | 1998/r-Jr. | 11 | 41 (28) | 17.0 | 12.5 | 2 | 0 |
Second Year Starting:
| Player | Season/Class | GP | Tackles (solo) | TFL | Sacks | Blocked Kicks | Forced Fumbles |
| Darryl Tapp | 2005/Sr. | 13 | 48 (27) | 14.5 | 10.0 | 1 | 3 |
| Corey Moore* | 1999/r-Sr. | 9 | 27 (24) | 15.5 | 12.0 | 0 | 3 |
*Big East Defensive Player of the Year
What does this all mean for Worilds? It’s hard to say exactly how Tapp and Moore’s encore performances will translate to Worilds’ in 2009, but there are a few things to consider within these statistics. Moore was obviously more of a pass rushing specialist, and did a damn-fine job at his role for 1998 and 1999. He never performed as well as Worilds as an overall tackler, but he had big play ability, considering that a large percentage of his tackles were tackles for loss (about 41% in ’98 and 57% in ’99). Worilds has some of that disruptiveness in him, and his dynamic play numbers (TFL and sacks) SHOULD go up in ’09 with two fully-healthy shoulders. However, one of the reasons I believe he will be special is that his size (6’2”, 254 lbs.) is similar to Tapp’s (6’1” 264) along with his big-play ability. His TFL/Total Tackles Percentage was 29%, stronger than Tapp’s 2004 number (27.5%) and close to his 2005 number (30.2%). His effectiveness was limited due to his shoulder last season, and he should be able to perform at a much higher level without worrying about dislocating it on every snap.
Based on all of this, I believe Foster was dead on in saying that Worilds athleticism is similar to Tapp, but he has more explosiveness in him like Moore. If Worilds could see similar tackle production as 2008 and increase his TFL/TT Percentage to around 35-40%, he would easily be one of the most disruptive defenders in the collegiate ranks. With two healthy shoulders and something to prove, that is not out of the question. Expect great things out of Worilds this fall…the stats back it up.
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