TE Jerome Collins | Rams Head Coach Mike Martz | Draft Section | Message Board

OVERVIEW

Jerome Collins
Position:  Tight End/Outside Linebacker
College:  Notre Dame
Height: 6-4¼
Weight: 267
Hometown: Warrenville, Ill.

Collins is a former outside linebacker and wide receiver who moved to tight end for the 2004 season. He showed promise at the position as both a pass catcher and a blocker. Collins has been a special teams stalwart throughout his Irish career and proved to be very effective as a blocker in multiple tight end alignments.

Collins attended Wheaton-Warrenville South High School, where he was rated 11th on the "Best of the Midwest" team by the Detroit Free-Press and selected one of the top 25 players in Illinois for 1999 by the Chicago Sun-Times. He was named to the All-DuPage Valley Conference team as a senior. The three-year starter helped his team to state titles as a sophomore and junior followed by an 8-3 mark in 1999. He caught 35 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver in his final year. He also averaged 10 yards on 16 reverses and returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score and did the same on a 63-yard punt return.

Collins made more than 40 tackles, four sacks and six tackles for losses while playing the last four games of 1999 at outside linebacker. He played wide receiver, tight end and linebacker as a junior in 1998, making 31 catches for 702 yards and eight touchdowns. He also averaged 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior in basketball and earned all-league honors. Collins ran the second leg on the 1999 state championship 4x100 relay team and had personal bests of 10.9 in the 100 meters and 22.8 in the 200 meters.

Collins redshirted as a freshman at Notre Dame in 2000, spending the time converting from wide receiver to outside linebacker. He saw limited action on special teams in three games, but did not make any tackles. He again spent the bulk of his time with the special-teams units, coming up with one solo tackle in 11 games as a sophomore.

Collins appeared in 10 games with the defense in 2003, registering 9 tackles (7 solos) with a stop behind the line of scrimmage. The coaching staff decided to move him to tight end for his final season. He appeared in 12 games, but did not start any contests while catching six passes for 67 yards (11.2 avg.). He was involved in two blocked punts and totaled 4 tackles (3 solos) on special teams action. In 36 games with the Irish, he accounted for 14 tackles (11 solos), a stop behind the line of scrimmage, two blocked punts, a 28-yard punt return and 67 yards on six catches. 

ANALYSIS

Positives: Positives Has good upper and lower body muscle tone, with broad shoulders, thick chest, defined arms, thick thighs and calves and very good acceleration … Versatile athlete who is a very capable gunner on the coverage units, despite his size … Does a very good job of timing his leaps to get up and attempt to block the low trajectory kicks … Has developed into an effective blocker with shifty one-on-one moves … Effective short-area receiver who bends his knees and changes direction smoothly to gain separation after the catch … Active with his feet, working hard to sustain his blocks … Has the body control and leaping ability to make the tough catches in traffic (see 2004 Stanford game) … Shows fluid movements to turn his hips and hook defenders … Has the quickness and leg drive to be effective as a motion H-back … In limited chances to run with the ball, he showed he has the vision to separate and find the open area and adjust to uncover … Adds instant value as a cover guy and edge blocker on special teams. 

AGILITY TESTS

4.71 in the 40-yard dash … 2.73 20-yard dash … 1.68 10-yard dash … 9-foot-10 broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times … 32¼-inch arm length … 9 3/8-inch hands.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Wheaton-Warrenville South (Warrenville, Ill.) High School … Rated 11th on the "Best of the Midwest" team by the Detroit Free-Press and selected one of the top 25 players in Illinois for 1999 by the Chicago Sun-Times … Named to the All-DuPage Valley Conference team as a senior … The three-year starter helped his team to state titles as a sophomore and junior followed by an 8-3 mark in 1999 … Caught 35 passes for 450 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver in his final year, averaged 10 yards on 16 reverses and also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score and did the same on a 63-yard punt return … Made more than 40 tackles, four sacks and six tackles for losses while playing the last four games of 1999 at outside linebacker … Played wide receiver, tight end and linebacker as a junior in 1998, making 31 catches for 702 yards and eight touchdowns … Averaged 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior in basketball and earned All-League honors … Also ran the second leg on the 1999 state championship 4x100 relay team and had personal bests of 10.9 in the 100 meters and 22.8 in the 200 meters.

PERSONAL

Sociology and Computer Applications major, enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters … Born April 18, 1982 … Resides in Warrensville, Ill.

Courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com, Powered by The Sports Xchange.