Decision looms for UA’s Collins
MEMPHIS — If Saturday was Alex Collins’ final game as an Arkansas Razorback, he made sure the Liberty Bowl was a heck of a going-away party.
Collins rushed 23 times for a season-high 185 yards and an Arkansas bowl-record 3 touchdowns to lead the Razorbacks to a 45-23 victory over Kansas State.
For good measure, Collins added a 68-yard kickoff return to set up another touchdown.
It might have been Collins’ last game at Arkansas because the junior tailback is eligible to enter the NFL Draft.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he’ll meet with Collins and his family Wednesday at the tailback’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to discuss his future.
Collins hasn’t said what he’ll do, and he didn’t address the subject after Saturday’s game.
Bielema said Collins — as well as junior tight end Hunter Henry and junior offensive tackle Denver Kirkland — wanted to focus on the bowl game before making a decision regarding the draft.
“Alex and I have a lunch date down in the Sunshine State,” Bielema said. “I’ll get a chance to sit down with him and his family and the people that love him, and we’ll make an announcement after that.”
Collins broke five tackles on a 14-yard touchdown run to give the Razorbacks a 3823 lead with 12:04 left.
His third touchdown tied a Liberty Bowl record for one game.
“I was very determined,” Collins said. “We wanted to put the game away.
“I felt like I just had to do my part, and I fought hard and tried to score for the team.”
Collins had a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to tie the game 7-7 and a 13-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put Arkansas ahead 21-10.
“The kid is unbelievable,” Arkansas senior guard Sebastian Tretola said. “He runs angry, he runs mad, the legs never stop.
“I think that adds to our mentality. The O-linemen keep going. Even if you miss your block, he might make that guy miss, so you’d better keep running because you might help him 20 or 30 yards down the field.”
Collins was voted by media as the Liberty Bowl’s most valuable player as well as Arkansas’ outstanding player on offense.
“He had great patience,” Kansas State cornerback Morgan Burns said. “He read his blocks and had time to cut back or hit the hole hard.
“He broke a lot of tackles and made a lot of big plays for his team.”
Wildcats defensive tackle Travis Britz said Collins’ “great vision” is what stood out the most.
Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder said the game tape on Collins didn’t lie.
“He’s a very explosive young guy,” Snyder said. “He runs downhill extremely well, and he can make you miss.
“You have a plethora of exciting and talented running backs in the SEC, and he’s at the top of the list. He got a lot of help up front, too.”
Collins finished the season with an Arkansas record 20 rushing touchdowns, surpassing the 19 by Bill Burnett in 1969. His 10th game this season of rushing for more than 100 yards tied Arkansas’ record set by Darren McFadden in 2007, and his 68-yard kickoff return was a bowl record for the Razorbacks.
Collins capped his season with 271 carries for 1,577 yards. For his Arkansas career, he has 665 carries and 3,703 yards. Collins, McFadden and Georgia’s Herschel Walker are the only SEC players to rush for more than 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.
Walker was the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, and McFadden was the runner-up in 2006 and 2007.
“Alex is playing as good a football as he’s ever played since he’s been here,” Bielema said. “If he comes back with us, you’re probably looking at a Heisman Trophy candidate.
“If he goes on, the NFL is going to get a very good football player with a lot of growth and a lot of opportunity in front of him.”
Collins seemed uncomfortable with all the praise being heaped on him after the game.
“I don’t like taking credit for anything, because without the other 10 guys on the field, I’m not able to do anything,” Collins said. “The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes and making it a lot easier for me.”
Arkansas safety Josh Liddell said Collins helped the defense, too.
“As defensive guys, we watch him out there running hard and breaking tackles and fighting for every extra yard,” Liddell said. “That just fires us up and gets us ready to play defense.
“It’s really fun to watch Alex run.”
“If he comes back with us, you’re probably looking at a Heisman
Trophy candidate.”
— Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema
on running back Alex Collins