La'el Collins

La'el Collins

refer to caption

Collins in 2015
No. 71Dallas Cowboys
Position: Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: (1993-07-26) July 26, 1993
Place of birth: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 322 lb (146 kg)
Career information
High school: Baton Rouge (LA) Redemptorist
College: Louisiana State
Undrafted: 2015
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015
Games played: 12
Games started: 11
Player stats at NFL.com

La'el Collins (born July 26, 1993) is an American football guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU). Collins signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

Early life

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Collins attended Redemptorist High School, where he was named to the Louisiana 3A All-State team in each of his final three seasons. Paving the way for running back Jeremy Hill, Collins helped lead Redemptorist to a LHSAA Class 3A state quarterfinals berth in his senior year, where the team lost to Patterson which were led by running back Kenny Hilliard.[1] After the season, Collins played in the Under Armour All-America Game and was also named All-American by Parade and USA Today.

Regarded as a five-star prospect by every major recruiting source, Collins was listed as one of the premiere offensive tackle prospects in the class of 2011. Rivals.com ranked him second behind only Cyrus Kouandjio,[2] while ESPN had him in third place, behind Kouandjio and Christian Westerman.[3] Collins had offers from almost every major program in the country, including Auburn, Florida State, and Southern California, but committed early to Louisiana State in September 2009.[4]

College career

In his true freshman year in 2011, Collins played in seven games with no starts. In a total of 46 snaps on the offensive line, he posted five knockdown blocks and was recognized as a Freshman All-American by CBSSports.com after the season.[5] As a sophomore, Collins started all 13 games for LSU, replacing Will Blackwell at left guard, and led the team in both total snaps (836) and knockdowns (64.5). He was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after playing all 84 offensive snaps at #1 Alabama, helping the Tigers to compile 22 first downs, 139 yards rushing and 296 passing against the nation's No. 1 defense.[6] Having played every offensive snap in LSU's last eleven games, Collins earned honorable mention All-SEC honors by the Associated Press.

In his junior season, Collins was moved to left tackle, filling the void left by Chris Faulk. Quickly adjusting to his new position, he earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors after playing all but one snap in a 37–27 over Texas Christian in the season-opener.[7] Collins went on the start twelve games at left tackle, only missing the Furman game in October.[8] Louisiana State's offense accounted for school-record 465.9 total yards per game, which included 200.8 rushing and 256.8 passing, and a school-record 37 rushing touchdowns.

Collins turned down an opportunity to enter the 2014 NFL Draft to return to LSU for his senior season.[9] He started all 13 games at left tackle, leading the team in both offensive snaps (843) and knockdowns (88). The Tigers offensive rushed for an average of 224.5 yards a game, the most by the team since averaging 256.6 in 1997. After the season, Collins was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given annually to the top offensive lineman in the SEC as voted on by the league’s coaches, as the first LSU Tiger to win since Ciron Black in 2009. Collins was also voted First-team All-SEC by the league's coaches and the Associated Press. Both USA Today and AP named him second team All-American.

Professional career

Regarded as a top prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft and a likely first round pick,[9] Collins went undrafted after he was scheduled to talk to police after the draft about the shooting death of a pregnant woman Collins previously had a relationship with.[10][11][12] Collins was not considered a suspect in the shooting.[13]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 4 in 305 lb 5.12 s 1.87 s 3.04 s 4.63 s 7.70 s 27 in 9 ft 0 in 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[14]

Dallas Cowboys

On May 7, 2015 Collins signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. His contract was worth $1,599,000 with a $21,000 signing bonus. The entire contract was guaranteed. On October 14, 2015, Collins was promoted to the teams starting left guard.

References

External links

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