Last season, Penn State had to throw Audavion Collins into the fire.
In his first year at Penn State, 2023, Collins played in just six games.
Last season, he played in all 16.
When Elliot Washington got hurt against Purdue, Collins had his snaps increase. In the teamโs first College Football Playoff game against SMU, Collins played a career-high 44 snaps. Collins also played well, having a Pro Football Focus grade of 70. He was especially sound in tackling, cashing in on 13 of 14 opportunities per PFF.
Now, Collins is the subject of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State player.
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 179 pounds
Hometown: Covington, Georgia
Before Penn State:ย Collins came to Penn State after one season in Starkville, where he didnโt play in any games. Before that, the Covington, Georgia, native he was a consensus three-star recruit out of Newton High School, and committed to Mississippi State in August 2021. He entered the transfer portal in April 2023 and received an offerย from Penn State at the beginning May.ย Collins also had offers from Akron and Western Kentucky, but he ended up announcing his commitment to Penn State May 16.
2023:ย Collins played in six games, posting three solo tackles and a tackle for loss.
Last year:ย Collins ended the season with 26 tackles (19 solo) and an interception, two TFLโs a sack and a PBU. His first interception took place in the teamโs regular-season finale against Maryland Nov. 30.
Where he stands:ย Right now, it seems to be a good bet that Penn Stateโs starting outside corners to being the season will be A.J. Harris and Elliot Washington. But Collins has shown to be a capable depth piece and should see plenty of reps.
A quote by Collins:ย โCoach Terry [Smith], and my teammates pushed me to go hard each and every day. And just me working and taking day one, day two, just one day at a time and not looking too far in the future or too far past. Just stay consistent. Just being consistent day in and day out.โ
A quote about Collins:ย โ(Collins has) done a great job since heโs got here. โHeโs gotten better every single semester and every single year. Extremely competitive guy in practice and that has shown up in games, as well. We expect him to take another step this year and factor, whether itโs as a starter or in the rotation.โ โ Coach James Franklin
