TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR JUSTIN WORLEY OF NORTHWESTERN HIGH SCHOOL IN ROCK HILL FOR BEING NAMED THE 2010-2011 GATORADE NATIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to learn that Justin Worley of Northwestern High School in Rock Hill was named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on December 9, 2010; and

Whereas, in its twenty-sixth year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company in collaboration with ESPN RISE selected the Rock Hill athlete, the first-ever Gatorade National Player of the Year from the Palmetto State; and

Whereas, the Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the fifty states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field; and

Whereas, comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists, the national advisory panel helped to select Justin Worley from more than 1.1 million high school football players nationwide; and

Whereas, at six foot five and one hundred ninety-five pounds, Northwestern High School's Trojan quarterback Worley led the team to a 15 and 0 record and to the 2010 Class AAAA-II State Championship victory; and

Whereas, the award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field; and

Whereas, with a weighted grade-point average of 4.07 in the classroom, Justin Worley is a devoted member of his church community, volunteering locally as a guest speaker on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and giving his time to the St. John's Church holiday program and the congregation's annual drive for the needy, Operation Christmas Child; and

Whereas, he has verbally committed to play football on scholarship at the University of Tennessee beginning in the fall of 2011, and he will graduate early from Northwestern to begin attending classes on the Knoxville campus during the upcoming spring semester; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is grateful for the pride and recognition that Justin Worley has brought to his school, to his community, and to our great State. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Justin Worley of Northwestern High School in Rock Hill for being named the 2010-2011 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Justin Worley.