MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama football linebacker Blake Worthy recently sat down with USAJaguars.com to discuss how a family member played a part in him ending up at South, his role on the team as a special teams player and what he wants to do after his playing career is complete, among other things.

Worthy, a senior from Gadsden, Ala., has been a member of the Jaguar program since transferring prior to the 2016 season.  Prior to beginning his collegiate career at Alabama State, Worthy was a four-year letterwinner at Gadsden City High School with his cousin and current Jaguar defensive lineman Finessé Middleton, where he recorded 313 tackles and four interceptions during his prep career.  He also helped the Titans make 6A state playoff appearances each of his four years.

When did you start playing football?
"I got in the game at the age of five.  My dad took me to a park and just told me that this sport can take you a long way and I just started playing football and fell in love with it."

What's the biggest lesson you've learned from playing football?
"Just stay the course.  Things are going change and might not go the way that you want them to and you may face adversity during a season or get hit with an injury, but you have to go through it.  Football just teaches you life's lesson on how to be tough in all types of situations."

Talk how you ended up here at South Alabama and your path to get here.
"I have a crazy path.  I started off at Alabama State and then went to Jones Community College and then West Alabama.  My cousin, Finessé Middleton called me and told me that he was thinking about leaving Louisville and transferring to South Alabama.  We came down here on a visit together and we both loved it and decided to come here together."

What has it been like to play Division I football with your cousin?
"It's been good and felt like we were back in high school together again.  I'm able to be out there and see him make plays and live out his dream."

Besides the opportunity to play with your cousin, what else factored into your decision to come to South Alabama?
"Just the environment, the coaches and the friendly atmosphere.  You're also close by the beach down here and you can't get any better than that.  There's always nice weather.  It may ran every now and then, but that's okay."

You have mainly seen time on scout team here.  What has that experience been like for you?
"It's been a humbling experience every day working to help the rest of the team get better."

What do you see as the role of scout team members and their contributions?
"We just want to give them a great look during the week and hopefully look like the team they are going to play so that they will be prepared."

How do you feel that you've improved since arriving here on campus?
"I've really learned the game of football a lot more since I've been here.  Since I've stepped back from the role of playing a lot, I've been able to watch the game and really soak things in, especially from coach [Kane] Wommack.  His dad was in college football for a long time, so he knows what he's talking about.  Coach [Colin] Hitschler also knows a lot about the game."

There's still about half of the season remaining on the schedule.  What are your goals for the remainder of the year?
"I just want to keep going hard in practice every week and hopefully find something that the guys might need in order for us to turn the season around."

What are you wanting to do after your football career is over?
"I really want to coach.  I want to be a GA [graduate assistant] and learn more about the game."

What level are you wanting to coach at?
"Hopefully on the college level, but my end goal is to coach in the NFL [National Football League] and one day become a defensive coordinator."

You mentioned to me earlier that you are currently doing an internship while you complete your degree.  Where is your internship at and what does it involve you doing?
"My internship is at Franklin Primary Health Clinic.  I work out diabetic patients or any other patients who are elderly or just want to get their weight down or control their weight.  We do yoga, work with weights or pretty much anything they are wanting to do.  We work towards helping them have a better life."

What do you like to do in your spare time?
"I like to play Madden and go fishing.  Sometimes I go hunting.  It just depends on the time of year it is and if I have time to go."

What's your favorite form of social media?
"Favorite form of social media is probably Twitter."

What do you see as your role on this team?
"I just see my role as someone who encourages others.  If anybody needs to talk about football and they don't want to go to the coaches but want to hear it from a player's perspective, they can come talk to me."

What other sports did you play in high school?  
"All the way up until ninth grade I played the main three sports – football, basketball and baseball.  I stopped playing baseball and basketball when I figured out that I could play football at the Division I level."

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Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/sports/2013/3/13/Gridiron%20Club.aspx?id=22.

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