Thunder Collins' story a cautionary tale

[Husker_Power]

Sunday, Jan 06, 2008 - 12:16:01 am CST

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He sits facing you with his usual wide smile, a sparkle in his eyes and hopeful nature, just as he did back in 2000 when he first arrived in Lincoln.

 

Only this time, Thunder Collins, the former Nebraska I-back, sits before you in a small cubicle behind a pane of glass at the Lancaster County Jail. He's in the latter stages of a 135-day sentence for two counts of assault stemming from an altercation with his girlfriend, plus violation of a protection order, his latest in a series of legal troubles.

 

He still believes he can play football at a high level, maybe even in the Canadian Football League if everything falls right. He seems upbeat even though he's relegated to "the hole," an area where he gets little-to-no contact with fellow prisoners. An altercation with an inmate during a previous stay at the unit landed him in the hole this time, he says.

 

The 6-foot-2 Los Angeles native appears healthy. He weighs 190, Collins says. Jail food must be somewhat edible.

 

"It's not the Nebraska training table, but it's OK," the 28-year-old says with a shrug.

 

This isn't necessarily a great story or an inspiring story. It's basically a sad story. Perhaps more than anything, it's a cautionary tale about the ridiculous nature of recruiting hyperbole — just a little something to stash away as the Feb. 6 national signing day nears and we crank up the hype machine once again for various Husker recruits.

 

It's possible there have been Nebraska football players who received more recruiting hype than Thunder Collins, but I can't think of many. In the summer of 2000, the Husker radio network breathlessly counted down the days until Collins' arrival on campus by playing the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck."

 

Oh, the newspapers got into the act, too. No question, we had a hand in creating a mythical figure before he ever donned the scarlet and cream. We produced long and glowing feature articles about the big-time transfer from East Los Angeles Community College. His provocative name and credentials stirred the imagination. He was a can't-miss kid, rated by SuperPrep as the Numero Uno juco running back in the nation.

 

"The only thing I don't like is when people say I didn't measure up to expectations," Collins says. "The reason I didn't live up to expectations is because they put handcuffs on me."

 

In other words, he thinks he didn't receive enough carries.

 

Whatever. In 2½ seasons at Nebraska, Collins carried 121 times for 763 yards and five touchdowns. As a senior in 2002, he served a four-game suspension after the NCAA determined he violated extra-benefits legislation, apparently for using a Lincoln woman's long-distance phone card. Things got a little messy and he left the team midway through his final season.

 

"I started losing focus at about that point, and problems occurred," Collins says.

 

He began turning up in arrest reports. There were too many setbacks, he says, and at one point, after a breakup with his girlfriend and some serious family issues, he contemplated suicide.

 

"I was feeling alone," he says.

 

In Friday's Journal Star, in the court records , under the headings "County Court" and "Assault," it said: "Collins, Thunder G., 28, transient, two counts, 30 days' jail. Also: violate protection order, 45 days' jail." In addition, Collins says, the judge tacked on jail time because he turned himself in late.

 

The "transient" part raises eyebrows. Is Thunder homeless?

 

"Nah," he says. "If it got that bad, I'd just go back home."

 

Home is south-central Los Angeles, and you probably have heard about south-central Los Angeles. If there is a nice part of south-central L.A., well, Collins isn't from that part.

 

Yes, this is mostly a sad story. An inspiring story would have Collins rising from the mean streets and starring in the game he positively adores, all the while avoiding trouble. But hey, maybe this story still can become inspiring. Maybe there's a happy ending after all. There's always hope. Always.

 

Collins plans to play wide receiver this spring for the Omaha Beef indoor football team. Perhaps he will play well and attract the fancy of a CFL team. He holds out hope of an NFL tryout.

 

At this point, Collins is another in a line of overhyped recruits. Oh, sure, many hyped recruits eventually live up to their billing. But for every Tommie Frazier there seems to be a Thunder Collins.

 

"To be honest with you, I never saw Thunder as a player who was going to step on campus and it was just automatically going to work for him," former Nebraska head coach Frank Solich says. "Sure, he had some speed. He had some athletic ability. But I certainly thought the hype he was getting was way ahead of the game.

 

"But I never paid much attention to what everybody was saying about recruiting, and I don't think you can do that as a coach. You just recruit guys you think can help win games."

 

Coaches can leave the hype part to the rest of us — the media, the Internet-based recruiting services, the message boards and blogs, all of that. The Web sites that specialize in recruiting, as I've written previously, are getting rich selling hope at 10 bucks a subscription. I guess there's nothing wrong with that. People have been getting rich selling hope for decades.

 

One thing to consider as Nebraska fans gnash their teeth over lost verbal commitments: Can you truly consider it a loss when you're not sure there would have been a gain in the first place?

 

I admit I'm a sucker in this game. I watched video on Rivals.com of Marque McCray a few years ago and instantly proclaimed him to be the next Johnny Rodgers. You remember McCray, right?

 

Right?

 

For what it's worth, Collins never minded the hype.

 

"I'd hype myself up anyway," he says. "That's just the California mentality."

 

It's a mentality that's become pervasive in the ever-expanding cesspool that is college football recruiting. And it's not going away any time soon, no matter how many cautionary tales come down the pike.