La'el Collins
Collins in 2015 | |||||||
No. 71 Dallas Cowboys | |||||||
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Position: | Guard | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Date of birth: | 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 | |||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015 | |||||||
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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]
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
- ↑ "Several LSU commits stay alive in state playoffs". The Daily Reveille. November 30, 2010.
- ↑ "Rivals.com offensive tackles 2011". Rivals. January 20, 2011.
- ↑ "2011 ESPN 150". ESPN.
- ↑ "Redemptorist duo commits to LSU". Sports NOLA. September 29, 2009.
- ↑ "CBSSports.com 2011 Freshman All-America team". CBSSports.com. December 7, 2011.
- ↑ "LSU OG La'El Collins named SEC offensive lineman of the week". The Times-Picayune. November 5, 2012.
- ↑ "LSU's La'El Collins named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week". The Times-Picayune. September 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Tigers freshman Ethan Pocic to start at center, Jerald Hawkins at left tackle". The Times-Picayune. October 26, 2013.
- 1 2 "LSU OT La'el Collins feeling 'bittersweet' about his final game as a Tiger". The Times-Picayune. December 22, 2014.
- ↑ La'el Collins goes undrafted, not eligible for '16 draft
- ↑ Limited options for La'el Collins after he goes undrafted in 2015 NFL draft
- ↑ Controversial LSU tackle La’el Collins goes undrafted
- ↑ Police want to question La'el Collins following shooting death
- ↑ http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=119342&draftyear=2015&genpos=OT