Fifth-year senior Reed Worth broke not just one but two Simpson records during his time on the Simpson College football team. Worth will go down in the Simpson record books as the all-time leading receiver and will have the most receiving touchdowns in a career.

Worth finished his career with 3,265 yards and 35 touchdowns. Worth surpasses Dusty Kain (previous leading receiver) and Taylor Rodgers (receiving touchdowns).

“It’s a great feeling, a lot of hard work and time went into everything,” Worth said. “Even though my name is on the record, it’s not just mine. Everybody had a part in it. Coaching staff, every player I played with… there’s always somebody who taught me something new and contributed something in some way.”

Going into the season, Worth knew he was close to breaking the records, and while he made it a goal for the season, he said it wasn’t the whole purpose of the year. 

“It was something I definitely had in mind that would be really cool if I could do that, but it also was something that was going to be hard to do. So, if I didn’t get it, it was going to still be a good career for me and a fun season,” he said.

Worth didn’t think much about his progress until midway through the season when he broke the first record during the game against Dubuque. Worth broke the receiving yard record during his final football game against Central College.

Worth’s football journey

Worth grew up watching football and attending Iowa State games, since his family were season ticket holders. His first experience playing football was as part of a flag football team, which he had to beg his parents to join. 

“Their one rule was, if you get hurt, you have to get up, you can’t lay on the ground, which sometimes was kind of tough,” he said. “But, it was definitely an experience for me to get to mature a little faster and understand that football could be really tough to go and play.”

Worth was the quarterback for the Prairie City-Monroe Mustangs and was named the 2018 2A Player of the Year. He was also an all-state quarterback and helped PCM win the state championship in 2018. 

Worth came into Simpson as a quarterback, but the previous head coach asked him to switch to receiver after the team faced some injuries, and he agreed. Due to COVID-19 and other circumstances, Worth stayed at receiver.

His dad was the main reason why he played football. Worth said his dad was always there, supporting him at every football game. Worth also played for the competition and family aspect of the sport.

“I love to compete. I’m a very competitive person, but as time went on, I kind of got into it for being within a family. Going to college as a freshman, you don’t really know anybody, your family is at home, so you have to create a whole new family,” Worth said. “So, having a family and brotherhood for five years was a really great reason why I played and why I wasn’t ready to leave yet.”

Why did he take a fifth year?

Worth wasn’t ready to hang up his football jersey and close that chapter of his life because he didn’t want to regret it ten years later, knowing he could’ve played if he hadn’t. Knowing he was close to breaking records contributed as well. 

Additionally, he wanted to be a part of the coaching and culture change. Worth said being a part of a new program was exciting, and there were a lot of unknowns going into it, but it was fun last year.

Why he chose Simpson

Worth almost didn’t come to Simpson, originally committed to playing basketball for Buena Vista. But, after a coaching change within their program, Worth decided to take a different path.

The previous head coach for the football team reached out to Worth two days later, saying there was always a spot at home for him at Simpson, which meant a lot to Worth, helping him make the decision to commit to Simpson. 

He also liked that Simpson was closer to home, had smaller class sizes similar to his high school and liked the size of the campus.

Worth’s future plans

Worth will graduate in May with a sports administration major, giving him the choice to stay close to business-side sports.

He recently accepted a position at Northwestern Mutual for financial advising or financial selling. He is currently in the process of getting licensed for the job.