Football
Tressel Not Likely to Let Worthington off Easy
By John PorentasDoug Lesmerises of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported yesterday that OSU defensive tackle Doug Worthington was arrested for speeding and was found to have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit for driving. According to Lesmerises, Worthington was charged at around 3:15 AM Saturday after having been stopped on Canon Drive near Ohio Stadium for doing 41 in a 25 MPH zone. The story was confirmed by numerous news outlets in the Columbus area as the day progressed.
The number of off-field incidents involving the OSU football program has declined lately which is a positive, but this arrest coming so close to the start of fall camp is troublesome. Fans worried about wins and losses don't want to see Worthington lose playing time. OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel, however, isn't likely to take the incident lightly.
Highly regarded defensive back Eugene Clifford recently transferred to Tennessee State after several off-field incidents put him in Tressel's dog house. Starting cornerback Donald Washington also is on Tressel's naughty list for two off-field incidents. Malcolm Jenkins said last week that Washington could miss the first two games of the season because of that situation.
"It could happen," said Tressel rather cryptically when asked if Washington would lose two games this season.
Tressel isn't likely to suspend Worthington for the season on a first offense, but he isn't likely to go particularly easy on him either. Tressel remarked recently that he holds upper classmen such as Worthington to a higher standard than younger players and that when those upper classmen err he is more likely to be strict with them.
"Fair or unfair, right or wrong, I'm a little bit harder on guys that lose their car keys (get into trouble) later in their career," said Tressel.
"Freshmen are freshmen and they're going too err a little bit. So be it.
"But sophomores and juniors, often times I'll say to them 'You know I've got 20 freshmen over there that are killing me. Don't add to our challenges."
That is precisely what Worthington did this week. Tressel has yet to comment on the situation, but if he follows his general pattern, Worthington may indeed face more than just a slap on the wrist. Tressel also isn't likely to completely turn his back on Worthington either.
"It's frustrating when older guys have their car keys taken away but the good news is that whether they're young or whether their a little bit older, if we can get things headed in the right direction and there's a happy ending, that's all we care about," said Tressel.
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