New Tider
Cornelius Wortham

Birthday: 1-25-82
High School: Calhoun City
HS Mascot: Wildcats
HS Coach: Mike Ray
HS Position: ILB
HS Number: 15
AL Number: 17 or 19
Official Visits: Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss
Second Choice: Tennessee
Committed: 1-24-2000

Wortham is one of the Tide's most highly regarded recruits.

This season Wortham had 115 tackles, six sacks, 24 stops behind the line and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a score. And he rushed for 525 yards and eight touchdowns.

As a junior, he had over 100 tackles, including 20 for losses. He also had three interceptions, three sacks and three fumbles-caused.

Wortham was a first-team All-State pick. He was an Atlanta Journal Southern 100 selection. SuperPrep tabbed him the nation's fourth-best outside linebacker prospect.

What Experts Say about Cornelius Wortham

Bobby Burton: "He can play safety or linebacker and will be a player at either one."

Bill Buchalter: "His speed and quickness remind me of [former FSU star] Derrick Brooks."

Allen Wallace: "A Southern gem. Superior speed for OLB with good defensive coverage skills. Blue-chip pick-up for the Crimson Tide."

Tom Lemming: "Shows great range and instincts."

Forrest Davis: "Converted from safety to linebacker and became one of the South's most coveted players. Has great speed and quickness."

Q&A with Cornelius Wortham

TI: Alabama started recruiting you late. Talk about that.

CW: I sent them a tape early in recruiting but they said they never got it. In December, Coach Harbison came by my school and got some more tape of me and took it back to Tuscaloosa. Right before they went down to Miami for the bowl game, Coach Rouzie called and said he watched my tape. He said that they had to have me. At that time, I thought I was 100% Tennessee.

TI: A few weeks before signing day it appeared that you were a "lock" for Tennessee. How did Alabama overtake Tennessee?

CW: Going into the Alabama visit [January 21] I thought it was going to be Tennessee. But when I got over to Alabama I saw that they had everything I was looking for. Alabama is rich in tradition. They've won championships and they're talking about winning more. They put people in the NFL, and they graduate players. Plus, Alabama's only two hours from home, whereas Tennessee is seven hours from home. Then it came down to feeling comfortable. I felt much more comfortable at Alabama.

TI: When you say comfortable, can you be specific?

CW: It all comes down to what someone likes, but Tennessee is a different atmosphere. The campus is basically located in the town. It doesn't have a Quad or a Grove. I liked the Alabama campus much better.

Before I visited Tennessee, I was dreaming of playing in that big stadium of theirs, but when I saw it, I wasn't as fascinated as I thought I would be. I like Alabama's stadium better. To me, it's prettier and cleaner.

TI: During your visit to Alabama you came down with a stomach virus. You spent part of your visit resting in the hotel room. Talk about the impact that had on your decision.

CW: I got sick and didn't get to go over to the stadium on Saturday night with the other recruits. While I was in bed, Coach DuBose and the trainers and a lot of other people kept coming by to check on me. I was impressed by how much interest they showed. The next morning they took me over to the stadium and I got to experience everything I missed out on. I thought that was pretty special. That showed me how much they cared about me. Then I went over to Coach DuBose's office where I got to put on an Alabama jersey. Coach DuBose saw the smile on my face. He knew I liked that.

TI: Were you sold on Alabama then?

CW: When I got home from the visit we sat down as a family and put together a list of pros and cons. When we first sat down, I thought Tennessee would still be it. But when we listed the cons, Tennessee had a lot of cons that Alabama didn't have. And Alabama had every pro Tennessee had and more. So I committed to Alabama the next day at school.

TI: Once you committed to Alabama, did the pressure pick up?

CW: Boy, did it ever. The pressure from Ole Miss and Tennessee picked up quite a bit. I got faxes with stuff like Alabama depth charts showing that they had a lot of linebackers. I found out that a lot of those players were walk-ons. I was told by one coach that he could show me on tape all the linebackers at Alabama. I told him that I'm a competitor and if I went to a school that didn't have competition, then I wouldn't be playing for a very good team.

When [Tennessee assistant] Coach Caldwell realized that they were not going to get me, he told me that I should go to Ole Miss. He said that if I wasn't going to Tennessee, they'd rather me go to Ole Miss. They didn't want me to go to Alabama because they said they didn't want to play against me for four years.

TI: Talk about next season. What are you doing to prepare yourself?

CW: I'm thinking only about going in ready to play. Every time I'm in the weightroom I think about being ready to play. That motivates me. I'm working out every day and I run track too.

TI: Which events do you run?

CW: I mainly run sprints and sprint relays. I run the 100 and 200 meters. And I run the 4x100 relay and the 4x200. I don't remember my best time, but I finished fourth in the state in the 100 my sophomore year.

TI: Which linebacker slot do you expect to play?

CW: I played mainly inside linebacker in high school, but the coaches are telling me that I'll play outside linebacker next season. They say that my speed and quickness will help me to play early.

TI: Do you plan to visit any of Alabama's spring practices?

CW: Oh yeah. I'll be over for the A-Day game for sure. My dad and I will probably drive over and watch some of the other practices too. We're both very excited about it.