Finally healthy, C.J. Worton ready to write a new chapter

C.J. Worton walked over to a throng of media, sweaty after a long practice and did what any other football player would do after practice; he took off his jersey and pads. Worton was quickly reminded to put his jersey back on, he could leave the cumbersome shoulder pads and helmet on the ground, but you can’t blame Worton for not knowing how the procedure goes for media interviews.

Worton led South Dade to the Florida Class 8A state championship in 2013, where he hauled in six passes for 159 yards a three scores in the championship game. That strong end to his senior season, coupled with a late flip from Florida State to Florida left high expectations for the Miami receiver. Unfortunately, Worton has more time in the training room than on the field the past two seasons. The junior receiver has participated in just nine of a potential 28 games since he arrived on campus, catching just six passes in those games. His freshman season a broken hand kept him sidelined. A knee injury his sophomore year was the culprit.

Everything seemed to be finally coming together at the end of the 2015 season. The image of Worton elevating above Crimson Tide defenders to come down with a 46-yard touchdown in the SEC Championship Game showed a glimpse of what could be. Then, another injury, this time in one-on-one drills when a teammate rolled over his ankle, the initial though pain, then the past, seemingly a sick version of Groundhog Day.

“Mentally, you work so hard all through the season and you keep trying to overcome injury,” Worton said. “Everything looks like it’s going to start being on track and then to get that setback again, it was like ‘man, I’m in the same position I was in last year. I’ve got to do something to turn it around.”

Worton turned to his brother, J.J., who was a receiver at UCF. The elder Worton suffered an ACL injury in a win over SMU in 2014. J.J. returned after the injury to catch a touchdown before a midweek MRI revealed a torn ACL.

“Most of the time when I was in the training room, I was FaceTiming him,” Worton recalled. “He would always push me because the trainers would ultimately have to go to practice when we were still in the training room. He would be like ‘OK, it’s time to get back in the pool’ or ‘OK. What have you done today? Try to go through it again.’”

Practices came and went as the season drew nearer. Worton still spent more time in the training room than on the practice field. Ultimately he missed the season opener. He made his long awaited return against Kentucky, which didn’t begin how he would have imagined.

The first pass targeted for Worton was behind him. The receiver stopped, dove backwards against his momentum and reached out for the ball, which bounced off his hand and high into the air.

“You’re just like ‘oh man. I hope no one catches it there,’” he said. “But as soon as you see that, you try to get back up on your feet and just pray for the best and know that if they do pick it, you have to go and chase them down.”

The pass was intercepted and Worton was left dejected on the sideline. His teammates picked him up and he would have another opportunity. It came quickly; Worton caught a pass past the first down marker on 3rd-and-seven but turned and quickly lost three yards. A defender wrapped himself around Worton’s recently sprained ankle that wasn’t what worried the receiver.

“All of the sudden I see more guys just start running at me,” he said. “I’m like, alright now the goal is just to get the first down and I got to get there, so I really tried to push and get there and luckily I did.”

Worton’s return wasn’t anything to write home about, two catches for 19 yards, but it is a start.

Worton’s career has been defined by injury through two years. This week, as the Gators ready to take on North Texas, he’s on the other side of the story. Sophomore receiver Antonio Callaway is “highly doubtful” with a quad injury and freshman receiver Tyrie Cleveland is out with a hamstring injury. Those absences beg for a player ready to fill the void, to answer the call.

Worton has spent much of the past two years watching others flourish while he was stuck on the sideline. Finally healthy, this is his opportunity to write a new chapter in his book.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC