Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders were among the first five picks in the 1989 NFL Draft. Not long after those legends were taken, the Atlanta Falcons tabbed a Big Sky Conference player with the 27th overall selection.
Northern Arizona’s Shawn Collins became just the fourth player in league history to hear his name called in the first round. It hasn’t happened since.
“Little old me from Northern Arizona in the mix,’’ said Collins, who ranks 41st on the Big Sky’s list of “50 Greatest Male Athletes.’’ “I had no clue I’d go in the first round. I had really good workouts. I thought I’d go in the second or third round. When I was chosen 27th, you talk about a guy who cried, and cried.’’
Collins came to Northern Arizona as a wide receiver, but was an All-Conference tight end in 1987 and 1988. He finished his career with 201 catches for 2,764 yards with 24 touchdowns.
Larry Kentera, Northern Arizona’s coach from 1985-1989, knew Collins would be a draft pick, but not in the first round.
“The scouts I knew told me he was going to be high,’’ Kentera said. “I thought maybe third or fourth round. He had the ability and the size. I think what helped him was moving to tight end and blocking people. The scouts always wanted to know how tough the wide receivers were.’’
Collins grew up in San Diego, Calif., and played high school ball at Kearney High School, where he was teammates with another future NAU Lumberjack - offensive lineman Larry Huff. If not for Huff, Collins likely would not have ended up in Flagstaff.
“Our head coach Tom Barnett called me in the office and told me there were a couple of schools looking at me,’’ Collins remembered. “NAU was looking at Larry Huff, but coach told Northern Arizona there was a kid they were overlooking, and that was Shawn Collins. I didn’t have the best grades. It was hard to get into school.’’
Collins vividly remembers his first trip to Flagstaff, leaving the beaches and palm trees of San Diego for the mountains, pine trees and snow of Flagstaff.
“I never knew it snowed in Arizona,’’ Collins said. “I was a city kid. I didn’t know about snow. I remember jumping in the back of a raggedy old Toyota pickup truck and looking at the snow. It was a beautiful school. When I saw the dome, I knew it was where I wanted to play.’’
As a freshman in 1985, Collins caught 16 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. His breakout campaign came in 1986 when he led the Big Sky with 70 catches for 1,016 yards and four touchdowns.
At 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Collins had decent size. The Lumberjacks decided to move him to the tight end position because of an abundance of talent at wide receiver. Mike Haynes, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 1988 draft by Atlanta, was also on the team.
“We needed him in that tight end spot,’’ Kentera said. “The offensive coordinator, Brad Childress, wanted to use him as a tight end. He wasn’t that used to being so close to the tackle. Everything worked out good. We’d split him out a little bit. He wasn’t the greatest blocker, but he was open down the middle. The defense was more concerned about the outside people. After he was established, they started putting people on him.”
He caught 61 passes for 653 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. As a senior in 1988, he averaged a league-best 5.4 catches per game. In 10 games, he had 54 catches for 882 yards and nine touchdowns.
Collins credited Kentera’s hard-nosed coaching style with much of his success. Kentera had learned from the master of discipline while serving as an assistant at Arizona State under Frank Kush.
“Coach Kentera taught me about being tough as nails,’’ Collins said. “All honor to our coaching staff. I was blessed to be coached by Brad Childress, Bill Callahan and Andy Reid, who all became NFL head coaches. It was a blessing. I remember one time I got into a little trouble, and Coach Childress called me into his office and told me that his livelihood depended on me. I couldn’t keep messing up.’’
Collins played in 53 career NFL games, catching 98 passes for 1,433 yards and five touchdowns. He continues to hold the Atlanta Falcons rookie record for catches in a season with 58.
Collins is currently living in his hometown of San Diego, selling cars as Mossy Nissan. He stays busy following his five kids, who range in age from 4 to 23.
Collins said he watched Northern Arizona play Montana on television a couple of weeks ago, and is itching to get back to Flagstaff and get more involved with the Lumberjacks.
“It’s giving me chills that I’m being honored,’’ Collins said. “I never thought I’d be in that situation to be honored in this way. I love the Big Sky Conference. I’m truly blessed to be alive. I want to get back to the activities at Northern Arizona.’’
