AOTW: The Hitman … Clarkston’s Zach Collins strikes fear into the opposition

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

CLARKSTON — It’s hard to imagine Zach Collins having any fear on the football field. Yet it was three years ago when he felt a little apprehensive lining up near the line of scrimmage.

“The coaching staff came to me just before my first game my freshman year and told me I was starting,” recalled Collins. “I was a little nervous about that. I was a freshman.”

Collins was a freshman in the fall of 2008, at Clarkston no less. With over to 2,700 students, Clarkston is the largest high school in Oakland County and fourth overall in the state, according to the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Collins was also starting at linebacker…for the varsity…at a state powerhouse program.

The talented Collins has not only been a starter ever since, but he has been one of the Wolves’ best defensive players — ever. He is also the top-rated player in the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area for the 2011 season.

THE HITMAN:Clarkston's Zach collins has an assignment to go after the oppostion's ball hander. He was named to numerous postseason teams in 2010 and is the area's No.1-rated player for 2011. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

“He ranks right up there with the best (linebackers) we’ve had and he might be the best of them all,” admitted Kurt Richardson, Clarkston’s head coach since 1987. “The kid’s a player. And he’s smart, too. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve coached. I think he’s only the second kid we’ve had that will be a four year starter on defense (and third overall).”

The other players to be a four-year starter for the Wolves under Richardson were quarterback Dugan Fife and two-way lineman Bubba Clements. Fife played in the late 80s and early 90s, while Clements played in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Collins is just flat-out good. He is listed in the top 100 prospects in Michigan and is ranked 17^th in Oakland County, which has dozens of Division I recruits in 2011. Collins is on the radar for multiple Division I colleges but he is leaning towards attending an Ivy League school. Big Ten and MAC schools are also keeping an eye on Collins’ progress.

Collins, who played varsity basketball as a sophomore, earned All-OAA Red Division, All-Area First Team and All-County Second Team honors in 2010 among numerous postseason accolades in football. He finished with 95 tackles, solos and assists combined, with four interceptions.

On the AP All-State Team for Division 1-2, he was listed as honorable mention.

BALL-HAWK: Clarkston's Zach Collins led the Wolves with 95 tackles and four interceptions last season and helped his school reach the postseason for the eighth straight season. File Photo | Larry McKee, www.northoaklandsports.com

Collins, who watched numerous teammates suffer injuries last season, is a clutch performer. Perhaps one of the biggest plays of the 2010 season was a late game, one-handed interception against Rochester, which was driving inside the Wolves’ 30 and trying to take the lead.

The Wolves won that contest, 17-14, which was part of a seven-game win streak. Clarkston reached the playoffs for the third time in Collins’ career and eighth straight time overall.

“Rochester (was) a good team, but I knew we’d make the play,” said Collins. “We’ve (made plays) on defense all (last) season. I really like our defense.”

Collins started on the Wolves’ 2009 squad that finished 12-1 and came within one play of reaching the state finals. Clarkston lost that state semifinals game to Sterling Heights Stevenson, 37-35. His freshman year the Wolves finished 6-4 and lost in a district opener to Romeo (38-7).

Football has been a big part of Collins’ life and so has playing defense.

“I’ve been playing football a long time. I started playing in the third grade. It was natural (for me),” said Collins. “I just try to go find the ball, go after it.

“I’ve always been a linebacker in high school,” continued Collins. “I played fullback in my younger years and they got me doing a little bit of that now.”

Collins started out at 165 pounds as a freshman, but the 6-foot-1 talent has bulked up to 200 pounds today and is quite a bit stronger. While most young players aspire to be offensive heroes, Collins traditionally likes the freedom of defense, in particular that of being a linebacker. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You can do anything you want out there within the game-plan,” he said. “You can just go out there and go after people, hit some people.”

Richardson said that Collins — the team’s leading tackler last season by a sizeable margin — even calls plays on the fly.

“He makes calls when we make mistakes,” said Richardson. “Like I said, he’s a smart player. And he has become one of our leaders.”

Now, with the Wolves’ sights set on possibly competing for another OAA Red Division title — Clarkston won the OAA league crown in 2009, 2007, 2000, 1999 and 1996 — and a likely postseason berth, Collins is primed to lead his team in the most important stretch of his prep career — his senior season.

“It’s (likely) set up for us and Lake Orion to play for the league championship and that’s what we hope for every year,” smiled Collins.

Last season Clarkston was bombarded with injuries, while two years ago it was merely inches away from playing at Ford Field in Detroit on the final weekend of the season.

“It’s great motivation. I think for the (returning) guys, we’ve learned a lot,” offered Collins. “Now we hope to get into (the postseason) and try to make another run.”

And Collins will be in the middle of mix, doing what he does best — hitting people.

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Tags: 2011 Prep Football Preview Extravaganza, Athlete of the Week, high school football, prep football, Zach Collins

Category: BWW Athlete of the Week, Clarkston, Featured Articles, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps