There's a good reason why you didn't hear a peep out of us when Michigan running back Kevin Grady was busted for a DUI: we don't like to tempt fate. Not only do most of us have our own stories making it home when we shouldn't have, but we're also pretty rabid about a major sports team that just so happens to have a roster consisting of nothing but college students.
More fun than a DUI class (AP Photo)Though tackle Doug Worthington fell short of Grady's epic 0.28, he does earn style points for getting caught on Woody Hayes Drive. In addition, his effort was good enough for two Fulmer Cup points -- deemed "an appropriate charge for a generic, unremarkable Ohio" (that's rich coming from a state where these guys are the official outfitter). What, no bonus points for him being underage as well?
It's never easy guessing what type of punishment is in Worthington's future because unless the offense is a matter of public record (like, for instance, a DUI), nobody outside of the program would even have a clue if it happened at all. Still, I'm guessing he sits for the opener against YSU and is back on the field in week two. Just a guess, nothing more.
If Worthington is held out of games, the press will see an 11-game starter on the pine, while the rest of us know that he was actually part of a four-man platoon at defensive tackle. Against Michigan and LSU, the four turned in a total of 32 (Worthington), 28 (Abdallah), 28 (Larimore) and 27 (Denlinger) minutes. Hardly a dominate tandem in that group so far*.
Still, the play of the interior defensive line is the key to whether the 2008 Buckeye defense will truly be dominant. The other components are in place and any loss of playing time out of the tackles doesn't help.
We should be thankful that nobody was hurt and all it usually takes is one DUI to learn a hard lesson, so hopefully Worthington can get through this and we'll look back and see it for what it is: youthful indiscretion.
* Saying nothing of the fact that despite Worthington having the most upside of the DTs (HS Parade AA, plenty of PT as a sophomore), he's still 6-7, 276. Not exactly prototypical DT size. Yet.
