Tony Collins

This article is about the former American football player. For Tony Collins the social historian, see Tony Collins (historian). For other people named Anthony Collins, see Anthony Collins (disambiguation).

Tony Collins

Date of birth:	May 27, 1959 (1959-05-27)
Place of birth:	Sanford, Florida
Career information
Position(s):	Running back
College:	East Carolina
NFL Draft:	1981 / Round: 2 / Pick 47
Organizations
As player:
1981-1987 1990	New England Patriots Miami Dolphins
Career highlights and awards
Pro Bowls:	1983
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Anthony Collins (born May 27, 1959 in Sanford, Florida) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League and the Arena Football League.

Early years

A speedy and powerful runner, Collins first garnered notoriety in high school as a starter on the 1976 New York State Class B Champion Penn Yan Academy Mustangs.

NFL

He attended East Carolina University and was selected in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Cris Crissy, one of his high school teammates, was also drafted by the Patriots that season. Collins was a Pro Bowl selection in 1983 and he played in Super Bowl XX as a member of the Patriots. His final year was in 1990 with the Miami Dolphins. His NFL career was shortened by drug use. Collins finished his NFL career with 4,647 rushing yards, 261 receptions for 2,356 yards, and 44 touchdowns in 103 games.

Arena football

In 1991, Collins joined the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. On July 9, 1991, Collins drove his car into a lake in Orlando, Florida, in a suicide attempt. Collins, 32 years old, was treated at a hospital and released about an hour later. He fully recovered and returned to the Predators later in the arena football season. In 1992 Collins continued his arena football career with the Cincinnati Rockers and scored 9 touchdowns. In 1993 Collins played his last season of arena football with the Miami Hooters.

After football

Currently, Collins is educating high school athletes and families across the country on the college recruiting process as an educational speaker for the National Collegiate Scouting Association. His son, Conredge Collins, was a fullback at the University of Pittsburgh from 2005 to 2008.

References

Preceded by Vagas Ferguson	New England Patriots leading rusher 1981-1983	Succeeded by Craig James
Preceded by Craig James	New England Patriots leading rusher 1987	Succeeded by John Stephens