Texas DT Alfred Collins figured out this one secret to become a standout SEC award winner for the Longhorns
Now playing with consistency, Collins has become worthy of SEC defensive lineman of the week honors
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian looked like a proud papa Monday when he announced who won the weekly awards from the SEC office.
“Alfred Collins was the defensive lineman of the week,” he said with a huge smile. It was Collins’ first time winning a weekly award from the league office in his five seasons at Texas.
“And who I don’t think is getting near enough credit nationally for how good he’s playing football right now for us,” Sarkisian added. “I mean, Alfred is playing a fantastic brand of football.”
Collins had a monster day against Arkansas with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a critical forced fumble late that helped seal a 20-10 victory. With a full-body extension, Collins used his massive paw to slap the ball out as the third-ranked Longhorns moved to 9-1.
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“I knew when I got that play, it was in slow motion, I hit it and once I saw Michael (Taaffe) jump on it, I was like, we won,” Collins said.
Saturday's Arkansas win was far and away Collins' best game of the season, based on Pro Football Focus' grading system, and perhaps his best game at Texas.
It took longer than Collins and the Longhorns thought, but this is the standout defensive tackle everybody’s been waiting to see. The senior from Bastrop has 35 tackles and five pass break-ups, tied for second most on the team as an interior lineman.
This was the player Texas thought it had back in 2020. Collins got his first start in the Alamo Bowl and made a sensational one-handed interception that left everyone bug-eyed and slack-jawed. Based on one play alone, Collins was ticketed for instant stardom.
But Sarkisian arrived in January 2021 and found a player who was battling consistency issues. There would be moments of brilliance followed by stretches of unevenness. None of it was bad, per se. Coaches simply want to see first-class production play after play after play.
The last two seasons, players like Moro Ojomo, T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy were able to be more consistent, so they got playing more playing time. Collins simply kept working. Transferring was never an option.
“This is home,” Collins said. “I'm resilient. I’m saying I could have given up. But I got help from the coaching staff, all that. And just not giving up on myself.”
Texas DT Alfred Collins reveals his driving motivation to make game-changing play against Arkansas
Collins, a senior from Bastrop, makes game-changing play by forcing a fumble late in fourth quarter
Now, not only is Collins holding the point on the nation’s No. 1 defensive unit. He’s likely playing his way up NFL draft boards. Hard to ignore his 6-foot-6, 320-pound frame.
“I mean, you’ve got to go through things in life to grow from,” Collins said Monday. “But it all happened for a reason, because I’m here now, you know, and I’m all happy everything worked like it did. Because like I said before, I’ve grown a lot as a man, as a football player, all of that. So this journey has been fun and worthwhile.”
There’s always been star athleticism trapped in that huge frame. Collins’ mother, Benita, played women’s basketball at Texas from 1990-94. She once hit the game-winning shot to beat Texas Tech in the Southwest Conference tournament championship game. “That’s a bad woman right there,” Alfred said.
Collins’ younger sister is a future Division I volleyball player, too.
It just took Alfred some extra time. A position coaching change sure seemed to help, too. Bo Davis left UT during the offseason for a job at LSU. In stepped Kenny Baker, who had college and pro coaching experience with the Miami Dolphins.
During the spring, Collins raved about Baker’s attention to detail. “If you make one wrong step, he’s like, go again,” Collins said of Baker in April.
“Sometimes it’s more difficult to remain consistent when you know, oh well, I’m going to get my 10, 12, 15 plays (as a backup),” Sarkisian said. “But when you know you’re getting counted on for 35 to 40, plays a game, you tend to lean into I gotta do all the little things right. And whether it’s your hands, whether it’s your footwork, whether it’s fitting a run a certain way, stand In your gap, whatever that looks like.”
Collins took advantage of his opportunity and drilled down on the fundamentals. He’s now a poster child for the type of development Sarkisian’s staff is capable of with athletic players.
“I remember doing press conferences three, four years ago, talking about Alfred. What's the issue with Alford? Well, consistency,” Sarkisian said. “All of a sudden, now we have a really consistent player who’s very talented, and he’s making a lot of plays for us.”
