Alex Collins: A Tribute to the RB of My Childhood

Darren McFadden. Felix Jones. Peyton Hillis. As a now eighteen year-old kid, I never got to watch that amazing trio in the Razorbacks backfield live. Instead I got to watch the most underrated player in Arkansas Football history, Alex Collins.

The recent passing of Collins hit me harder than almost any athlete’s death ever. I didn’t know Collins personally, nor did he know me, but because of the memories I have watching him tear up defenses as a young kid, it’s like I lost a friend. From his celebrations and antics on the field to his infamous signing day, I’ll never forget the man that made watching Razorback Football fun.

I have a unique experience with Collins, as I got to meet him during the 2016 Summer while he was working out at Arkansas, shortly after he was drafted by the Seahawks. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was eleven, and because of it, I was invited by Arkansas Head Coach at the time, Bret Bielema, to visit the Arkansas practice facility and watch a practice.

When I walked in the door, there he was. The man I watched on TV the last three years was standing right in front of me. I wasn’t really sure what to think in the moment, as I just thought I was going to watch some football, not meet an NFL player. I didn’t say anything to him, but he saw me and approached me first. He came up to me and gave me a hug, then told me he knew about my story from Coach Bielema. He was extremely supportive of me and didn’t act like he was anyone special, even though he was. He asked me for a picture, I didn’t even have to ask him. Collins told me he had to go, but he gave me another hug before he left.

That moment in particular made the news of his death on Tuesday a whole lot tougher. Alex showed me he was a genuine man in the small interaction I had with him, but based off other’s stories, I wasn’t the only one with a one-of-a-kind experience with him.

I can still remember the game at Ole Miss in 2014. Alex picked up the live ball from Hunter Henry for the first down in an absolute miracle of a play, the play that really made me fall in love with the game of football. Someday, I’ll tell my kids and grandkids about the day when the miracle went down in Oxford, as I can still remember where I was and how it happened.

Of course McFadden and Jones make great cases as the two best backs in Hog history, but Collins made a heck of a case to be in that company as well during his time in Fayetteville. Three straight 1,000 yard rushing seasons may not happen for the rest of my lifetime. So much to say about his playing career and the memories I have watching him, it’s still surreal thinking he’s no longer here.

Alex Collins will most likely be remembered for his feats on the football field, but I’ll always remember the day I got to meet him. The way he treated me as a little boy who got to meet one of his favorite players showed me that he was not only an amazing football player, but an amazing person. He may have passed, but I promise I’ll never forget the RB I grew up on.