Jerel Worthy Jerel Worthy ( born April 26 , 1990 ) is an American football defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for Michigan State University , and was recognized as an All - American . The Packers selected him in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft . Early years . Worthy was born in Huber Heights , Ohio . He originally attended Chaminade - Julienne High School in Dayton , Ohio but then transferred to Wayne High School in Huber Heights , where he played high school football for the Wayne Warriors . As a senior for the Warriors , Worthy recorded 50 tackles , 10 . 5 sacks and 12 hurries . Worthy was also responsible for seven pass breakups and two fumble recoveries Worthy ' s performance earned him a spot on the Superprep and Prepstars Midwest Teams . College career . Recruiting . Coming out of High School , Worthy was ranked the 53rd Best Defensive Tackle by Rivals . com , 78th by Scout . com , and 93rd by Scouts Inc . He was also invited to play June 14 Big 33 Football Classic . Worthy received scholarship offers from Michigan State , Akron , Cincinnati , Marshall , Nebraska , and Ohio . He was six foot two inches , 288 pounds , ran the 40 - yard dash in 4 . 9 seconds who bench pressed a maximum of 335 pounds and squatted a maximum of 470 pounds . He had a 2 . 8 Grade - point average . Michigan State . Worthy attended Michigan State University , where he played for the Michigan State Spartans football team from 2009 to 2011 . Worthy was Redshirted for his freshman year but was still named the Scout team defensive player of the week versus Eastern Michigan . Coming on to the scene in 2009 , he started 11 of 13 games and ranked second on the team for tackles for loss and sacks . He was named a midseason All - Big Ten All American by Phil Steele . At the end of the season , he was named as a freshman All - American As a Sophomore , Worthy started all 13 games at defensive tackle and lead the linemen with 40 tackles , eight of which went for a loss . He also had a team best four sacks . He was a collegefootballnews . com All - Sophomore second team selection , honorable mention Big - Ten selection by the coaches and media , and was presented Michigan State ' s Outstanding Underclassman Award . For what turned out to be his final season at Michigan State , Worthy had 30 tackles ( 10 . 5 for loss ) , 3 . 5 sacks , 10 Quarterback Hurries , and 14 hits during the regular season . He was named a consensus first - team All - American honors by the Associated Press . He was also an All - Big ten selection from the coaches and media . Worthy became the first Defensive Tackle since Ronald Curl in 1971 to be named an All - American at Michigan State . On January 4 , 2012 Worthy announced he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2012 NFL Draft Professional career . Draft . Worthy was predicted to be a late first round to second round draft pick . Scouts talked about his size and called him thick and powerful . They also stated that he had enough speed to " shoot through the gap " Scouts also discussed his inconsistency and that his reputation was better than his actual production . It was also stated that he struggled in space and could not translate his weight enough to make tackles on the ball carrier . Green Bay Packers . During the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft the Green Bay Packers traded the 59th overall pick and a fourth round selection to move up in the draft and select Worthy with the 51st overall pick .