Zaven Collins
No. 25 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Tulsa, Oklahoma | May 19, 1999||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Hominy (Hominy, Oklahoma) | ||||||||||
College: | Tulsa (2017–2020) | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2021 / round: 1 / pick: 16 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2022 | |||||||||||
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Zaven Collins (born May 19, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulsa, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won several defensive player of the year awards in 2020. Collins was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Early years
Collins was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 19, 1999, and later attended Hominy High School in Hominy, Oklahoma.[1][2] He played quarterback, linebacker and safety in high school. During his career, he had 4,084 rushing yards with 54 touchdowns and passed for 3,056 yards and 32 touchdowns. He committed to the University of Tulsa to play college football.
College career
After redshirting his first year at Tulsa in 2017, Collins played in 12 games and started 10 in 2018. He had 85 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception.[3] As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 12 games, recording 97 tackles and two sacks.[4] Collins returned to Tulsa in 2020, where he was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player,[5][6][7][8] as well as the Lombardi Award.[9]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
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6 ft 4+7⁄8 in (1.95 m) |
259 lb (117 kg) |
33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.66 s | 1.63 s | 2.78 s | 4.36 s | 35 in (0.89 m) |
10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) |
19 reps | ||
All values from NFL Draft[10][11] |
Collins was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (16th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.[12] He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $14 million, on June 8, 2021.[13]
Collins entered his rookie season in 2021 as a starting inside linebacker alongside Jordan Hicks and Isaiah Simmons. He was relegated to a backup role midway through the season, playing the third-most snaps of the inside linebackers. He finished the season with 25 tackles and three passes defensed through 17 games and six starts.
Personal
Collins was arrested in Arizona for speeding and reckless driving in June 2021; he was released from custody within an hour.[14]
References
- ^ "'Stay your path': How TU's Zaven Collins developed from an under-the-radar recruit into one of the best players in college football | TU Sports Extra | tulsaworld.com". tulsaworld.com.
- ^ "All State football: Zaven Collins does it all for state champion Hominy". Oklahoman.com. January 8, 2017.
- ^ World, Kelly Hines Tulsa. "Zaven Collins goes from under the radar in Hominy to standout linebacker at TU". Tulsa World.
- ^ World, Kelly Hines Tulsa. "TU linebacker Zaven Collins combining skill and effort in pursuit of dominance". Tulsa World.
- ^ "Zaven Collins Wins Bronko Nagurski Trophy". University of Tulsa Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Hines, Kelly. "TU linebacker Zaven Collins wins Bednarik Award as nation's top defensive player". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ World, Bill Haisten Tulsa. "Bill Haisten: For the surging Golden Hurricane, a special player and a special coordinator". Tulsa World.
- ^ "Player to be Aware of: Tulsa Linebacker Zaven Collins". SI.com.
- ^ Thompson, Nathan. "TU's Zaven Collins wins Lombardi Award". Fox23. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Zaven Collins". nfl.com. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Tulsa OLB Zaven Collins : 2021 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Urban, Darren (April 29, 2021). "Cardinals Pick Zaven Collins in First Round Of 2021 Draft". AZCardinals.com.
- ^ Urban, Darren. "Top Cardinals Pick Zaven Collins Signs First NFL Contract". azcardinals.com. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ Weinfuss, Josh (June 21, 2021). "Arizona Cardinals rookie LB Zaven Collins arrested for excessive speed, reckless driving". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
External links
- 1999 births
- Living people
- All-American college football players
- American football linebackers
- Arizona Cardinals players
- People from Hominy, Oklahoma
- Players of American football from Oklahoma
- Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players
- American football linebacker, 1990s birth stubs