Defensive end Alfred Collins has a long list of scholarship offers and he recently released a top five of Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Alabama. The Bastrop Cedar Creek standout doesn’t really have much to prove at this point, but that didn’t stop him from working out at a Texas Longhorn mini-camp on Sunday. For Collins, it was simply a chance to continue to work on his game.
“It went well. I was just working on my skills. I feel like I perfected my craft a little,” Collins said.
On the recruiting front, the 6-6, 260-pound Collins continues to take things at a fairly slow pace. He did narrow his focus to five and said he’ll take official visits to those five programs before making a commitment. He’ll visit A&M in October and said he’s still working on dates for the other visits.
Collins plans to return to Austin in a couple weeks for an unofficial visit, and his repeated visits to the Forty Acres have helped him build some familiarity with the UT staff.
“It’s close to home. They have great coaches here. It’s a family base,” Collins said of Texas.
When it does come time to eventually decide, Collins said his choice will likely come down to which school makes him most comfortable and how he feels he can fit in each team’s scheme.
“I just keep need to keep building a bond with them. Keep getting to know them and learning how I’d fit in their defense,” Collins said of his five finalists.
The Longhorns have been in pursuit of Collins for a while and have hosted him on campus for numerous unofficial visits. Collins got to showcase his talents to the Texas coaches on Sunday, and the staff has told him his size and athleticism would make him an asset in the UT defense.
“They say they like my athleticism, that I could work really well for them as an end,” Collins said. “I could use some two-point stance, things like that.”
Collins is rated as a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 17-ranked strongside defensive end prospect. He plans to make a final decision in December.
