HE JUST WANTS THE BALL NITRO RUNNING
BACK ZACK COLLINS VERSATILE, UNDERRATED
Publication:
Published: 10/08/1997
Page: P1B
Headline: HE JUST WANTS THE BALL NITRO RUNNING BACK ZACK COLLINS VERSATILE,
UNDERRATED
Byline: TOM ALUISE
Zack Collins is a touchy subject.
The
chiropractor does bum backs.
In fact, if you're talking
stats, don't even mention "carries' to
Collins. It's "touches.'
"Whether it's carries
or catches, it's all about the same,' said
Wildcat Offensive Coordinator Scott Tinsley. "I
would like to think
he's going to come out of most games with at least 20 touches. A lot
of it is dictated by what the defense is doing.
"He wants the ball in
his hands. It doesn't matter how it gets
there.'
And once it's there,
Collins is dangerous.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound
junior is among the
versatile, as well as underrated, offensive players.
Collins was a major
contributor to Nitro's 1996 7-4 playoff season and
is supplying firepower again this year.
The 4-1 Wildcats,
ranked eighth in Class AAA in today's Daily Mail
Poll and ninth in the Secondary School Activities Commission playoff
ratings, visit
Collins has rushed for 501
yards on 106 carries (4.7 yards per rush)
with four touchdowns. He's also caught 29 passes out of the backfield
for 261 yards and a TD.
Collins is fourth in the
Mountain State Athletic Conference Gold
Division in rushing and first in receptions.
Within the division, only
DuPont's Tremain Straughter,
who's played
one more game, has more yards than Collins' combined 762 from rushing
and receiving. Straughter has piled up 906 yards
rushing and 34
receiving.
Last year, Collins finished
the regular season as the Gold Division's
leading receiver with 71 catches for 776 yards and six TDs.
He caught
a playoff record 12 balls in the Wildcats' 56-20 loss to Capital in
the first round.
Collins also ran for 670
yards on 84 carries (8.0 yards per carry)
through 10 games last year with seven TDs. He was the
Gold's leading
scorer with 84 points (14 TDs).
While his receiving numbers
are slightly down compared to this time
last year, Collins has been a workhorse carrying the ball. He's rushed
77 more times through Nitro's first five games compared to last year.
The absence of Kennedy
Award-winning quarterback J.R. House through
Nitro's first four contests obviously had something to do with Nitro's
choice to stick the football in Collins' gut.
House, who rejoined the Wildcats
from
victory, a 44-10 romp past Ripley on Sept. 26, is adept at hitting
Collins with screens and flairs, mostly behind the line of scrimmage.
"Most of my catches,
to me, are runs,' Collins said.
"We don't throw the
ball downfield to him,' Tinsley said.
Collins had a huge
"touch' game against Ripley.
He carried the ball 18
times for 80 yards and caught 11 passes for 86
more against the shellshocked Vikings.
"I like our offense
now that House is back,' said the durable
Collins, who carried 32 times in one game this season.
With the pass-happy House
behind center, that isn't likely to happen
again.
"We're keeping him
healthy by not having to pound it in there so
much,' Tinsley said. "He understands it and
really likes it.
"He's the kind of back
who gets stronger as the game goes, so we need
to get the ball in his hands.
"Anytime he catches
one of our screens or flairs, he's a threat to go
the distance.'