Hall of Fame
The most prolific passer in Montclair State history, Collins guided the Montclair State offense to some of its greatest moments in the late 1990s into the early part of the 2000s. A three-year starter, Collins led the Red Hawks to a 25-7 record. He was a three-time New Jersey Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference selection and earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Year honor in 2000. Collins was an integral part in returning Montclair State to the top of the NJAC standings in 1999, completing 157 passes for 2,235 yards and 15 touchdowns. However, his biggest play that season came courtesy of his feet as his one-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter at Rowan lifted MSU to a 28-24 victory and the NJAC Championship. MSU would also advance to the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the first time since 1989, winning two games to reach the quarterfinals before closing out the year at 9-2. The next season, Collins’ numbers were even better as he completed 231 passes, shattering the old mark by 51 while throwing for 2,866 yards and 16 touchdowns as Montclair State won its second NJAC title in similar fashion as Collins capped off a late-fourth quarter drive with another one-yard run to beat Rowan 17-13 and earn a second straight trip to the NCAA Playoffs. In that first-round contest at Springfield College, Collins put together one of the best passing days in his career. He completed 33-of-50 passes for an MSU single-game record 445 yards and three touchdowns. As great as those two campaigns were, Collins managed to raise his game to an even higher level in 2001. Helping Montclair State to a 9-0 start, Collins displayed an aerial assault the likes no Montclair State team had ever seen. He broke his own record for completions with 252 while smashing the marks for yards and touchdown passes with 3,307 and 32, respectively. In addition to scoring eight times on the ground. he again led MSU to the NCAA Division III Playoffs for a third straight season. Collins, who also had 14 rushing touchdowns in his career, finished his playing days as the all-time leader for completions (64), attempts (1167), yards (8,408) and total offense (8,497 yards) and was second in touchdown passes with 63.
