Made for the tough spot

IT’S DIFFICULT ENOUGH to play linebacker as a true freshman in college, but that hasn’t been enough for Jed Collins this year. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif., native is currently on his third position, having switched from linebacker to fullback and now, this week, tight end.

Collins is returning back home for this week’s game at UCLA, and he talked about his former high school teammates, the position shuffle this year and more with The Spokesman-Review:

S-R: Your high school, Mission Viejo, has done pretty well this year, haven’t they?

JC: They’re undefeated still, No. 2 or No. 3 in the nation depending on what poll you look at. But they’re having a phenomenal year.

S-R: And if you were still playing there?

JC: They’d be No. 1 in the nation.

S-R: You’ve added tight end to your repertoire this week?

JC: Yeah, I’m running at the tight end a little, getting in there. I’m trying to get on the field somehow.

S-R: You came here playing at linebacker and on special teams. Was it strange when you first started playing at fullback?

JC: I realized we had such a deep linebacker corps I wasn’t going to play much there. They made me a fullback for Idaho and I saw an opportunity. They moved me again now because we’re not going to run as much fullback. Hopefully, I’ll still get in and get to hit some people.

S-R: Are you getting a nickname from playing so many positions?

JC: The coaches are calling me Slash. Whatever week, whatever they need me to do I kind of have to learn a whole new position. It’s pretty tough, this week learning the tight end spot. I have to learn the run plays and all the pass plays and the routes and everything. It’s still fun. If I get to see time, I’ll do it.

S-R: You don’t look much like Kordell Stewart (the original Slash).

JC: No. Definitely not. I’m not the typical athlete that’s able to play many positions. But I do what I can. I work hard and I like to hit so I guess I fit in at a lot of positions.

S-R: What’s next for you?

JC: I’m thinking about backing up (quarterback Alex) Brink, but I’m not sure.

S-R: They were looking for quarterbacks a couple weeks ago.

JC: Yeah, I don’t know. I think these are my only positions.

S-R: Can you kick?

JC: I can punt.

S-R: Kyle Basler’s going to graduate in a couple years.

JC: We’ll see. Kicker is definitely one of the premier jobs of a football team. Everybody’s pretty envious of them. They go in the stadium during practice, never get touched. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

S-R: But probably, just the three.

JC: Yeah.

S-R: Are you starting to lean more toward offense now that you’ve played it so much?

JC: It is fun. My mom always says she hears my name on the radio when I get the ball and that’s pretty cool. But defense is what I played all through high school as my main side of the ball. We’ll see what happens next year.