Collins making the most of time at Rice
Michael Collins was just two months into his career as a member of the Rice University football team when the stunning news hit: The NCAA had canceled the men’s Division I basketball tournament in March.
With the COVID pandemic beginning to spread across the country, seeing fellow athletes pulled from competition hit home for the former New Canaan star.
“When they canceled March Madness,” Collins said, “everyone was just like ‘ Whoa. There is no way we’re playing this year.’ ”
Eight months later, Collins is three games into his career as the starting quarterback for Rice and is already an Owls record- setter.
In a year in which every aspect of life has seemingly been turned upside down, Collins has finally found a football home, a final step on the way to a possible NFL bid.
Through the first three games, the 6- foot- 5, 217pound Collins has put up video- game- like numbers, passing for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns, and becoming the first quarterback in school history to throw four touchdown strikes in each of the first two games of a season.
Collins’ success comes as no surprise to John Marinelli, the former New Canaan offensive coordinator and Greenwich head coach, who worked with Collins extensively during his four years with the Rams.
“I thought he was a Power Five quarterback,” said Marinelli, now a football analyst with the University of Arizona. “He’s a very bright young mind. Football for him is like a chessboard. He likes to look at it and dissect it. And he’s very self- critical. He’s thrown eight touchdown passes and ( 475) yards ( in two games), and he’s thinking about the throws he could have back. That’s really the true mark of character in a kid.”
At Rice, Collins won a quarterback battle with junior college transfer TJ McMahon and freshman JoVoni Johnson, before being tabbed as the starter by head coach Mike Bloomgren, and has thrived while learning Rice’s pro- style offense
“It’s been great,” Collins said. “The team has been awesome even though it’s been a funky year. Every week it was something different. We were doing walk- throughs from the middle of July through the end of August because we couldn’t even get clearance to do 7- on- 7s. It was a crazy ride and I’m just really happy that we’re playing now.”
Collins is well- traveled since his days of lighting up Friday nights at Dunning Field for New Canaan.
He started his college career with one year at the University of Pennsylvania, transferred to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth for the next three seasons, and, after a freshman recruit took over as the Frogs’ starting QB, Collins entered the transfer portal again and landed at Rice.
The move was made with one thing in mind.
“I was just looking for a place that I could play,” Collins said. “I had a couple of injuries that unfortunately kept me off the field ( at TCU), so I was looking for a fresh start where I could come in and compete for the job. Rice presented the best opportunity for me, and an opportunity to get into a pro- style offense.”
New Canaan coach Lou Marinelli said Collins was “following his dreams.”
“A lot of kids wouldn’t have had the courage to do what he’s done and give up an Ivy League education because he wanted more of a football experience,” Marinelli said. “A lot of kids dream about it, but he had the courage to do it. He loves football.”
Rice was 3- 9 last season, but Collins saw a spark, as the Owls’ wins came in their final three games, and he jumped at the opportunity to remain with a Texas school.
“I could see they were building momentum,” Collins said. “It was a good opportunity to come in and help build a winning program.”
Collins is now one of two New Canaan players on the Rice roster, as Garrett Braden, a linebacker, is a redshirt freshman.
The Owls are 1- 2, losing the opener to Middle Tennessee 40- 34 in double OT after rallying from a 15point deficit in the second half. That game featured the infamous “quadruple doink” as kicker Collin Riccitelli’s potential gamewinning field goal attempt in overtime hit the goalposts four times before bouncing forward for a miss.
Rice rebounded to beat Southern Mississippi 30- 6 the following week, with Collins going 12- for- 17 for 233 yards and four touchdowns. On Saturday, the Owls fell to North Texas 27- 17, with Collins going 23- for- 34 for 327 yards and two TDs.
The Owls have had two games postponed due to positive COVID tests among their opponents, but have three games still on the schedule.
Collins’ performance thus far has been eye- opening for the Owls.
“The last six quarters or so, Mike has really been doing some good things,” Rice offensive coordinator Jerry Mack told the Houston Chronicle last week. “And if he can consistently keep growing into the system and keeps growing as a passer, he can really help us make that next jump.”
John Marinelli pointed out that Collins may have been pursued by more top programs while in high school had he not committed to Penn during his junior year.
“The day he committed, I told him he was an idiot,” Marinelli said. “Only because I knew he was better than that. That’s not a knock on the Ivy League; it’s because you watch what he’s doing now and what he’s done. He’s performed at every level. He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever worked with and he has a real shot at the NFL because of his height.”
Marinelli also said that playing in a pro- style offense presents Collins the opportunity to learn what it will be like in the NFL.
A student of the game, Collins is enjoying that challenge of learning a new style.
“It’s a lot different and there’s a lot more responsibility for me in terms of protections and everything,” Collins said. “A lot of protections that we’re running are the same that NFL coaches run. We had a couple of NFL coaches on Zoom meetings with us and it was really cool to talk to them and get that sense of how similar the offense is to what they’re running. It’s been a really fun experience.”
Collins credits John Marinelli and former NFL quarterback J. P. Losman, now on the Clemson coaching staff, with guiding his development through the years.
Both worked with Collins during his three seasons as New Canaan’s starting QB as he helped lead the Rams to state championships in 2014 and 2015, and tied Connecticut’s single- game record for TD passes in a game when he connected for nine during a 69- 26 win over Trumbull on Nov. 6, 2015.
“They were both huge for me,” Collins said. “It was really cool to learn from them and a lot of the things that they taught me helped me separate myself while getting into college. I’m really grateful I was able to work with those guys — those are two really great mentors to have in my corner.”
At Rice, Collins has already developed a connection with wide receiver Austin Trammell, who caught seven passes for 143 yards and three TDs in the win over Southern Miss.
“Me and Mike, we’ve been playing really well together in spring, summer and fall, but obviously we didn’t have any games together,” Trammell, who has six TD receptions, said on Rice Owl Insider at Riceowls. com. “I just think that getting that first game together under our belt, it was just bound to make that big jump and our connection grew a lot. His trust in me grew and my trust in him grew, so it was really exciting and hopefully we can continue to do it throughout the season.”
“He really knows how to run a route, where to be and how to position his body,” Collins said of Trammell. “Without even talking to him, he’s where a quarterback thinks he should be and where they want to put the ball. It’s been really fun to work with him.”
Collins is one of many former New Canaan football players to excel at higher levels of the sport.
Zach Allen, a 2015 NCHS graduate, is in his second year with the Arizona Cardinals, and Lucas Niang, a 2016 graduate, played with Collins at TCU and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2020 NFL draft.
That’s in addition to the many other former Rams in the college ranks, including Drew Pyne at Notre Dame, Jack Stewart at Michigan and Jack Conley at Boston College.