Collins relishes
second chance
■ LaCorey Collins was on the
verge of not playing football
again, but now realizes the
importance of academics
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
When you lose something you
love, it hurts.
When you are the reason for
this loss, it is doubly painful.
And when you are fortunate
enough to get back what you once
thought was gone, you are re
lieved. Blessed. Forever thankful.
So goes the past few weeks for
Oregon tight end LaCorey Collins,
who will be in uniform today
when the Ducks hold their sec
ond major scrimmage of the
spring at approximately 5 p.m. at
Autzen Stadium.
On April 4 — the Ducks’ first
. spring practice — head coach
Mike Bellotti was visibly dis
turbed in announcing the ab
sences of tailback Herman Ho
Ching and Collins. Both players
were not only not a part of the
team, but were dismissed from
the University altogether for aca
demic reasons.
At the time, Bellotti made it
sound as if there was a possibili
ty of Ho-Ching’s return in the fall,
but that Collins’ up-and-down
Oregon career was finished.
It was yet another setback to
the enigma that is Collins, who
had come out of the Bay Area
hailed as one of Oregon’s most
decorated signees ever.
But whether it was his knee or
his thumb, there always seemed
to be something holding him back
that was out of his control.
Until this spring. This time it
was his grades that kept him out
of Oregon’s first two workouts.
“It was a big setback, but it was
something that I brought upon
myself,” Collins said. “I got into
this situation myself and I have to
get out of this situation by my
self.”
Those two days of not playing
the game he loved were
devastating.
“Without football, I’m just a
student,” Collins said. "I came
here to be a student-athlete and
I’m going to fulfill my goals and
work hard.”
The 6-4, 235-pound Oakland,
Calif., native nearly missed his
chance to do so. But on April 6,
the final day that students could
enroll in classes for spring term,
Collins regained admission to the
University and suited up for prac
tice.
“With LaCorey being back, it
certainly adds that big play poten
tial,” Bellotti said. "But I’m not
making any predictions or hold
ing my breath with him at this
point. He has some serious work
to do.
"But the most important thing
is his performance in the class
room."
Collins admits that football is
definitely secondary right now as
opposed to academics.
“I have a mind boggle right
now," Collins said. "Things are
just getting over, so I just need to
focus on football when I’m out
.here and take care of business off
of it.”
Oregon quarterback Joey Har
rington knows the versatility
Collins brings to the tight end po
sition with that "wide receiver
mentality.”
"It’s very nice to have him back
because he adds a' different di
mension to the offense,” Harring
ton said. “He’s at a disadvantage
right now, but I feel he can work
himself back in.”
So does Bellotti, who described
his tight end’s performance in the
scrimmage last Saturday as sim
ply “average.”
Collins is often reminded of his
amazing one-handed grab of a
Harrington pass in the Ducks win
over Texas-El Paso on Sept. 11.
It is a play that was anything
but "average” and demonstrated
his unquestioned potential. The
same potential that Collins plans
to capitalize on with his fortunate
second chance.
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Emerald
Tight end LaCorey Collins knows he needs to start paying more attention to his aca
demics if he wants a chance to make any more catches during games.
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"I don’t want that play to be my
glory,” Collins said. “I just want to
get past all of this and spring for
ward."
Duck updates
Jermaine Hanspard’s experi
ment with the tailback position is
over. The dual sport athlete has
been moved to a more comfort
able position of cornerback...
The tailback position will not
be cleared up until the fall when
junior college sensation Maurice
Morris arrives from Fresno City
College...
Although not selected in the
NFL Draft, former Ducks Justin
Wilcox (Washington), Brandon
McLemore (Tennessee) and Tony
Hartley (Cincinnati) have signed
free agent contracts with their re
spective teams. Hartley teams up
with other former Ducks — WR
Damon Griffin and QB Akili
Smith.
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