Freshman receiver looks to stand out for more than his hair

ORLANDO — If you were meeting Dazalin Worsham for the first time without knowing he was an elite college football recruit, the first thing you would probably notice is his hair.

Worsham can puff it out to really stand out or braid the brown-and-orange strands into various styles.

“I just wear it however I’m feeling,” Worsham

said at the Under Armour All-America Game’s media day in Orlando in late December. “I like to do stuff different, like to mix it up.”

Starting to grow his hair since he was in eighth grade, it’s something that Miami Hurricanes coaches and teammates have had fun discussing with the wide receiver recruit from Birmingham, Alabama.

“They like it poofy,” Worsham said.

But that could get hot during the humid months in Miami. If it becomes bothersome, he said he’ll likely twist or braid it.

Regardless of how he wears his hair underneath his Hurricanes helmet, Worsham is looking to dazzle on the field more than anything as he arrives in Coral Gables. He was one of 13 UM signees to move in on campus Sunday and begin spring semester classes Monday.

Worsham grew up also playing baseball and basketball and running track, but what helped draw him to football was his uncle, Aaron Brosz, who played with FSU alum and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston in high school and is now an assistant strength and conditioning coach with Alabama.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound receiver’s speed, quickness and route-running earned him a

four-star rating in the 247 Sports composite rankings. Some question his speed because of a 4.81-second 40-yard dash time that has been posted online. He said it was a bad run in poor conditions.

“That was at The Opening in Nashville,” he said. “It was pouring down rain. I had some big pants on, falling down to my knees, so I just ran.”

On his own time, Worsham says he runs 4.4 or 4.5 in the 40.

Worsham’s route-running, he says, has been developed from watching former NFL star Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints.

“Just the way he gets open, the way he uses his body to get open,” Worsham said of Brown. “Same with Michael Thomas, just the way he runs his routes. He gets open, in open space.”

The offense Worsham was used to at Hewitt-Trussville High in Alabama could suit him well for new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s spread-like, up-tempo scheme.

“We played spread,” Worsham said. “Just get the ball to the receivers and get it to us quickly so we can make plays, just so we can get into open space.”

He’s excited to play with fellow early enrollee Tyler Van Dyke, a quarterback.

“I think he’s cool,” Worsham said. “He’s a real good quarterback. I think he can sling it. He’s just a hard worker.”

Worsham looks forward to growing closer with fellow receivers Michael Redding III out of IMG Academy and Deerfield Beach’s Xavier Restrepo with their extra time on campus in the spring.

“I’m just ready to see what we can do together,” Worsham said. “[We can] bring a lot of explosiveness to the offense.”

As a sophomore in high school, Worsham caught 70 passes for 856 yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior, he had 87 catches for 1,022 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a senior, he had just 54 receptions for 427 yards and six touchdowns while recovering from two separate hip surgeries.

“Last season was just me getting back in shape from my surgeries,” Worsham said. “Me now compared to this past senior season, nothing’s the same.

“I’m back in shape now, ready to go.”