Tech’s Worilds hitting all the right notes

BLACKSBURG — When Jason Worilds listens to a Herbie Hancock piano solo, he hears more than music. He hears expression. He hears feeling.
There’s nothing to distract from the song or drown out the emotion. It’s complex in its simplicity, kind of like Worilds’ new approach on the football field.
Since the Virginia Tech sophomore defensive end removed all distractions from his mind and stopped second-guessing himself, he’s been able to express himself on the field a lot better.
The result has been sweet music.
“Now, if I see something out there, I react to it,” the 6-foot-2, 252-pound Worilds said. “I’m out there trying to make plays. At one point, I was out there just trying not to make a mistake, so I think I got a lot better in that aspect of my game.”
Worilds, 20, loves jazz music. He was once an accomplished saxophone player, but he gave that up in high school to focus on football.
That seems like a smart decision now. Despite battling a dislocated left shoulder this season — he had his right shoulder surgically repaired during his redshirt freshman year — he has a team-high 14 quarterback hurries and is second behind senior Orion Martin in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (12).
Worilds, a first-year starter, has been playing with the bum left shoulder for much of the season. He initially hurt it against Furman on Sept. 6, but he hasn’t missed a game.
It popped out again last Thursday at Miami, but he went to the sideline, had a member of the training staff pop it back in and was back on the field a few plays later.
“His mentality is he wants to win at all costs, and I think that’s a big thing about him. His shoulder came out and he goes in there and plays like he has three arms,” junior rover Dorian Porch said.
The injury is painful, but it’s not enough to keep Worilds off the field. Learning to play through the pain has been a big key to his breakout season so far.
“I had to go out there and play (Thursday against Miami),” Worilds said. “My teammates were out there. The game was on the line. We were playing for a lot. How could I miss that game? How could I let a shoulder injury sideline me?”
It’s that kind of passion that has allowed Worilds to improve as a football player.
In fact, he tackles everything — not just ballcarriers — with zeal.
He poured himself into his music for eight years. He played saxophone until he reached high school. That’s when he discovered he had a talent for football.
“I knew I had ability. I knew I was fast. I was always quick. I was always tough,” said Worilds, who grew up about a half-hour from New York City in Carteret, N.J. “My sophomore year, my coach sat me down. Colleges really started coming in, and he told me that I could really do something with this, so I buckled down and did it.”
He started studying tapes of great pass rushers like Dwight Freeney and he became a workout warrior.
His hard work paid off when football heavyweights like Tech, Miami, Michigan and Ohio State offered him scholarships.
Worilds developed a strong relationship during the recruiting process with Hokies coaches Charley Wiles and Kevin Rogers, who is now with the Minnesota Vikings.
As soon as he picked Tech, people were comparing him to the school’s other great defensive ends.
Worilds has been as good as advertised, and if he continues to progress, he could be in the same company as Bruce Smith, John Engelberger, Corey Moore and Darryl Tapp when he graduates.
Wiles already sees similarities between Worilds and Tapp, who starts now for the Seattle Seahawks.
“He’s got more ability probably than Darryl Tapp did coming through here,” Wiles said. “(With) Darryl Tapp, the work ethic was at another level.”
Wiles wants Worilds to bring the same intensity to practice that he does in the weight room and on game day.
“It’s just having that hunger Monday through Friday,” Wiles said. “(You know) he’s going to (give his all) on Saturday.”
Worilds is getting there. Practice can be draining, especially when you’re doing it almost every day in the spring, summer and fall. But he recognizes the only way to get to Tapp’s level is to treat practices like he does Saturdays.
“I’ve changed my practice habits, definitely,” Worilds said. “I’m just practicing with a purpose, you know. Just practicing with a purpose.”