Nick Collins had but one thought when he learned of his MEAC Hall of Fame selection and that was of his father – the late Willie Collins, a star quarterback at Bethune-Cookman in the 1970s.
“This is special,” Collins says of his Hall of Fame selection. “Just to represent a black college this way is huge. I know my father would be proud. This is so, so special in so many ways.”
Willie Collins, who died of cancer in 2009 at age 56, was a 6-3, 230-pound option quarterback who was the consensus choice of the coaches of his era as one of the greatest athletes to ever lead a Bethune-Cookman football team.
However, he was much more than that to his son, who followed in his footsteps at Bethune-Cookman where he became a three-year starter and an All-American and All-MEAC safety prior to a seven-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers.
“We were very close,” said Collins, who was inducted into the Bethune-Cookman Hall of Fame in 2016. “He was my best friend. There was no pressure (from him). That’s one thing I can say about my father. He never put pressure on me. He did bring the best out of me. He always knew I was a self-directed type of kid and I wanted to do things my way. He made sure I stayed on track of my goals.”
Collins was inducted into the MEAC Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 8 during an awards brunch at the Norfolk (Va.) Sheraton Waterside Hotel. Other members of the 2018 Hall of Fame Class are Howard quarterback Jay Walker, South Carolina State defensive tackle Chartric Darby, Morgan State volleyball athlete Ja Nina Lee and Charlene Johnson, who played basketball, coached volleyball and tennis and was Director of Athletics at South Carolina State.
A number of prominent citizens in Collins’ hometown of Cross City, Fla. were Bethune-Cookman alumni, and his family had strong ties to the Daytona Beach, Fla. school. Still, it wasn’t a given that he would go with the Wildcats on signing day.
“I visited different colleges but things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to,” says Collins, whose high school coach tried to interest Florida and Florida State in signing him to no avail. “I always knew I had Cookman there for me. It’s always been a part of my family. When that day came and I made the decision to go Cookman, I could see the joy on (his father’s) face. It was huge for him to have a son going to the same college he did.”
Collins was a do-everything kind of athlete at Dixie High School, who also lettered in baseball and basketball. In football, he lined up wherever his coach thought he could best help the team. He played receiver, running back and quarterback on offense. On defense, he played linebacker, safety and cornerback. He was 5-11 and 170 pounds. He didn’t have blazing speed. But he understood the game, largely because of the hours his father spent with him breaking down film, and he played with controlled aggression.
“I was just an athlete,” Collins says. “I was just out there trying to have fun and enjoy my teammates. I just loved the game of football.”
Collins’ goal entering Bethune-Cookman was to earn playing time and be consistent. He started out at quarterback, playing behind all-world signal caller Allen Suber and Lawrence McCloud. He later switched to linebacker before finding a home at free safety, a position he said ‘he stumbled into.’
All-American Rashean Mathis graduated following Collins’ freshman season. That left the Wildcats needing help in the defensive secondary, so the coaching staff used him at safety and linebacker in practice.
“They were looking for a guy who could cover a lot of ground and who had the intelligence to play the game the right way,” Collins says. “I fell into that position. I’ve always been aggressive and being a guy who in high school played every position helped me out. Being at a small high school allowed me to be open-minded about playing other positions, so when I did get an opportunity to play those positions I knew what I was doing.”
Collins, who was ineligible his freshman year, made his first start at safety in the Wildcats’ season finale against arch-rival Florida A&M in the 2002 Florida Classic, and he showed he knew exactly what to do at the position. He had 10 tackles, two pass breakups and a quarterback sack as Bethune-Cookman won 37-10.
“I was playing all over the field,” he said.
Collins’ most memorable performance came against the Rattlers in the 2004 Florida Classic, the final game of his college career. He intercepted a pass at Bethune-Cookman’s eight-yard line in the waning seconds of regulation, and the Wildcats went on to win 58-52 in overtime.
The win, the third in a row for the Wildcats against the Rattlers, allowed Collins to keep a promise he made to his father, who was 2-2 against Florida A&M
“That was nice,” Collins says. “I told him we would never lose to FAMU, and we didn’t. That was special. It allowed me to stay true to my word.”
Collins had dreamed of playing in the NFL since childhood. But it wasn’t until his 2003 Florida Classic performance in front of 73,358 fans that he had any inkling that dream could someday come true. An NFL scout approached him following the game and told him that he ‘had some talent’ and asked if he had thought about playing in the NFL.
“It’s everybody’s dream to go to the NFL,” Collins said, “but I didn’t know that it was that close for me until then. I started getting a little recognition and after that everything just fell in place, and I had a little luck.”
Collins made his own luck with his play on the field his senior season. He was team captain, All-MEAC and All-America after leading the conference in interceptions. Serendipity entered the picture after his season ended. He received late invitations to the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. He had impressive showings at both events, and the Packers made him their second round choice in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Collins was in awe of playing for one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
“Flying up to Green Bay to meet the coaches and to see the facility, it was a culture shock,” he said. “Coming from the heat and going to the cold, and the city…. it was small. It reminded me of Daytona or Gainesville (Fla.). Out of nowhere you just ride up on this beautiful stadium (Lambeau Field). It’s in the neighborhood and everybody knows their Packers. It was different. When you walk into that facility and see all the former players and you feel the emotion from all the players who came through and all the games and championship they won in that stadium, it was quite amazing.”
Collins went on to make a place for himself among Packers legends. He led the league in interceptions returned for touchdowns and interception return yards in 2008. He returned a Ben Roethlisberger pass for touchdown in the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV victory over the Steelers in 2011.
Collins’ career ended prematurely after he suffered a neck injury in a game against the Carolina Panthers in the second game of the 2011 season.
“I was grateful to be with such a great organization that really knows the game of football,” he said. “They have the proof in the pudding, and they really took care of me and my family.”
Collins was inducted into the Packers’ Hall of Fame in 2016. He currently lives in Orlando, Fla., where he is a volunteer coach at a local high school and coaches the West Orange Bobcats youth league squad.
“I think I want to coach full-time,” he said. “My kids (he has five children, a 13-year-old daughter who plays softball and four sons ages 10, 8, 6 and 2) are beginning to gravitate towards football. It’s nothing that I’m forcing on them, but if I am able to be one of their coaches on any level, that would be icing on the cake.”
Collins also goes into the local schools and talks to athletes about achieving their dreams.
“I let them know it isn’t easy to get to the next level like I made it,” he says. “I let them know you have to work hard and continue to strive.”
That formula worked well for Collins. He says he is humbled by the heights he has reached as a football player.
“I never thought I’d be in this position,” he said. “I thought I would be a player that did things every once in awhile and people in the stands would be like, ‘Ooh, he did that?’ To be on this level and having all the accolades I’ve received is a dream come true. When I look back on it, I’m kind of like ‘Dang, I was the man without knowing I was the man.’ I never looked at it like I wanted to be the man. The game was never all about me. It was all about making everybody around me great and being consistent at what I do and what I brought to the game of football.”