Thunder Collins

[np_husker]

Steven M. Sipple: Collins' story a cautionary tale

 

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

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.

 

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/0...42852781530.txt

[Husker_Power]

lol, sorry, already posted here

 

it was tempting for me to post it here too, as most of the other links like the one in the former Skers section hardly ever get looked at

[Hunter94]

California mentality = Harrison Beck.

not all that is shiny in California is gold.

[zoogs]

^ Beck was from Florida, right?

[hskrpwr13]

This got me thinking more about the recruiting hype and how I've been suckered in at times also. Those of us that tend to forget need to be reminded that sites like scout and rivals are strickly money grabs. They provide a few opinions of how good a particular player could/should be. They cant take into account coaching and rarely do they take into account the players' attitudes. Its all for entertainment value. Much like the WWE.

[k-rash]

^ Beck was from Florida, right?

 

Yes he was.

[Hunter94]

^ Beck was from Florida, right?

 

 

florida, correct. i was thinking of Lucky.

[DJR313]

^ Beck was from Florida, right?

 

 

florida, correct. i was thinking of Lucky.

 

Never once had that impression of Lucky. Played harder than anyone else in 2007.

[I See Red People]

^ Beck was from Florida, right?

 

 

florida, correct. i was thinking of Lucky.

 

Never once had that impression of Lucky. Played harder than anyone else in 2007.

 

[NUpolo8]

California mentality = Harrison Beck.

not all that is shiny in California is gold.

 

 

#1 Beck isn't from California.

 

#2. If you're inferring that the "california mentality" means that there are no great athletes here, well then, yeah......its a good thing there are no personal attacks on this board.

 

#3. Stereotypes sure are fun ain't they?

[Hunter94]

i got it, Beck is from Florida. my comment is everyone is so enamored with kids from California, being a player from there is no guarantee that they will be great additions.

[hskernation]

i got it, Beck is from Florida. my comment is everyone is so enamored with kids from California, being a player from there is no guarantee that they will be great additions.

 

 

id sure take a 4 star player out of california, texas, or florida before id take a 4 star player out of another state.

 

the competition is far better in those states than others

 

recruiting in general is all business, but stereotyping states and saying that the players that come out of them are always overhyped is a little overboard

 

remember there are players that are hyped, then live up to that hype, coaching is what converts hype to reality

[brasky]

Yeah remember Jordan Congdon's HUGE leg? "Anything up to 60 yards...."

[HuskerTrucker]

I remember when Collins came to Nebraska, his grades weren't that great, so he ended up having to take classes out at Souteast Community College. My sister was taking a couple of courses out there and she wasn't that impressed with him...even wondered how he ever qualified for college on a ACT or SAT test.

 

He came under the guise of being a good athlete, but sure seems like it never panned out. I think they ended up spending more time on dealing with his personal problems and behavior than he ever spent playing.

 

This is just another example of why transfers are a huge gamble, and seems like more than not they don't pan out. I would rather see someone come in that qualifies academically and starts at Nebraska because this is where they want to be from the start. Seems like they just naturally are more focused on being successful on and off the field.

[np_husker]

This got me thinking more about the recruiting hype and how I've been suckered in at times also. Those of us that tend to forget need to be reminded that sites like scout and rivals are strickly money grabs. They provide a few opinions of how good a particular player could/should be. They cant take into account coaching and rarely do they take into account the players' attitudes. Its all for entertainment value. Much like the WWE.

 

I agree.

 

Regarding Thunder, I always believed that if his name had been Bob Collins he would have received no hype.