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| Houston Texans Wide Receiver Nico Collins Catches Up With His High School Offensive Coordinator Stuart Floyd At His First Annual Football Camp |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Exiting my vehicle in front of the beautiful and exclusive downtown Birmingham venue, The Sage, I recognized a familiar voice.
It is one I have heard for nearly the last five years on numerous occasions, and his words are usually followed by a genuine laugh.
As I continued through the entrance, the laughter grew louder and friendlier. Turning the corner, I noticed Houston Texans superstar wide receiver Nico Collins in his off-the-field element, engaging with family and friends.
His conversation pauses for a second to make sure he fully recognizes the individual who has walked into his private event.
Once he realizes who it is, he gives me the same customary greeting he does when I walk into the locker room at NRG Stadium during the season.
“Sarge,” Collins bellows out as he rises from his seat. “What are you doing in Birmingham?”
“I was not going to miss this weekend,” I responded. “I know how much it means to you.”
During last season, Collins had mentioned to me how excited he was to hold his first annual youth football camp in his hometown of Pinson, Alabama, at his alma mater, Clay-Chalkville High School, and he had come back home to fulfill that obligation.
A Bond That Can’t Be Broken
They say that good friends don’t need to be in constant communication every day, but when they get together, it should be like no time has passed.
That’s the true essence of friendship.
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| Former Clay-Chalkville Cougars Teammates From L-R: T.J. Simmons, Tyrelle Pigrome, Nico Collins, D.J. Parker, And Terelle West |
Collins, 26, caught up with former teammates—Tyrrell Pigrome (Quarterback), T.J. Simmons, D.J. Parker (Wide Receiver), and Terelle West (Running Back), collectively as a group for the first time in five years.
The atmosphere was as if everyone was sitting in the locker room before practice, sharing stories and laughing loudly all night.
“We hadn’t been around him in a while, but as soon as we got back together, it was the same Nico,” said Simmons about the small reunion. “We are the same guys, and we hung out just like we did when we were back in high school. It was definitely a blessing to be back with the bros.”
Humble Beginnings
To explain to anyone not from Alabama where Collins’ hometown of Pinson is, they must start their journey in the city of Birmingham and head north; if you blink too fast while on Alabama 79 North, you will miss the exit sign.
Although the city’s population is just over 7,000 people, it feels like 70,000 once you meet residents who have lived there for more than 40 years.
“This has and always will be home to Nico, no matter where he is in the world,” said his father, Don Collins, standing on the same field he watched his son play on throughout his high school career. “We never had a lot when he was growing up, but we had each other and plenty of individuals around this city who still treat us as family to this day.”
Giving back to the community that supported Collins throughout his football career—from high school, through the University of Michigan, and now with the Houston Texans—was a top priority for him. Collins made a point to engage with every young person at his camp.
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| Photo Courtesy: The Chosen Foundation |
“It means a lot to come back to your hometown where everything started from,” said Collins. “I was here from elementary, middle school, and high school. It is no better feeling to come out to the high school and back to the city to see the kids come out and enjoy it.
“They came out, sweated, and learned something. It was a blessing. It has always been me and has always been a part of my heart. I love coming back and just giving back to the kids.”
At the end of the camp, before he made his way back into his old locker room with former teammates and coaches, Collins made sure to sign every autograph and take pictures with the participants and those who were in attendance.
“That’s just who Nico is,” said his older sister Aliyah, who is president of Collins’s ‘The Chosen One Foundation.’ “He has always had a big heart and wants to help everyone he can. Our parents raised us to help others when we can, and Nico knows how much this means to every person out here.”
Collins enjoys sharing his football knowledge from an NFL perspective to help young players with similar dreams of playing in the league someday. Still, his passion for another sport almost led him away from his true calling.
Hoop Dreams
A single glance at Collins’ 6-foot-4, 222–pound frame might lead some to think he runs up and down NBA courts professionally instead of punishing NFL defensive backs. Before shining brightly under the lights on Friday nights, Collins had dreams and aspirations of one day following in the footsteps of his favorite NBA player of all time, the late great Kobe Bryant.
His “Mamba Mentality” helped as his name began to gain recognition throughout his home state and across state lines in Georgia.
From the eighth grade through his first year of high school, Collins used his versatility and athleticism to shine on the hardwood, and some colleges started to take notice, along with his high school football coaches, who knew they might be on the verge of losing him.
“Between his ninth and tenth grade years, he was considering not playing football anymore,” said Collins’ position coach Chris Mills. “He was a good player. On some AAU teams and was being recruited. So we said to him, ‘A 6-foot-4, four-man (Power Forward), that is just a good basketball player, a 6-foot-4 receiver can play on Sundays.’ We really didn’t know what his ceiling was at the time, but that statement was still true.”
As Collins reminisces and remembers his basketball accomplishments from that time, he shakes his head and flashes his signature million-dollar smile.
“I should have hooped,” Collins says jokingly. “But God had a bigger plan. It was hard for me; I really wanted to hoop, but my football career took off faster than my basketball career. I was getting offers during my ninth and tenth grade years in football. In basketball, it was a little slower.
“I got offers from TCU and N.C. State. I was blessed with those opportunities, but football was the one I felt could set me up long term, taking myself and my family further. God set me up for that, so I trust his plans for setting me up.”
Photo Courtesy: The Chosen Foundation
Familiar Territory
Now that he was fully committed to one sport, Collins began to ascend on the football field as he and his teammates put Pinson, Alabama, on the agenda of college football scouts throughout the country.
He excelled over the next two seasons, helping lead Clay-Chalkville to a 29-1record that included a state championship and an undefeated season during his sophomore year.
As he looks around the field and into the stands, where his family, his biggest support system, cheered him on, Collins can’t help but think back to all the hard work he put into becoming one of the premier wide receivers in the state of Alabama.
One game that his teammates and fans still talk about was the 85-50 playoff win over Scottsboro High School, and current Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. Collins’ final stat line was six catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns.
“That was my favorite memory,” said Collins about one of his fondest memories from high school. “We were going back-to-back. 85 points in a playoff game was amazing. Little memories like that help build a bond with your brothers (teammates) and a relationship that lasts a long time.”
First Impressions Last Forever
It was a surreal moment for Collins and his family when he heard his name being announced that the Houston Texans selected him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Michigan.
But for the individuals who had been around him since Pee-Wee League football, where Collins started his career as a quarterback and running back, there was no surprise that he had reached the top.
Current Clay-Chalkville head football coach Stuart Floyd realized early on that Collins had the potential to be something special during his time as offensive coordinator.
“Probably around the sixth or seventh grade, I knew he could make it to the NFL,” said Floyd. “We have had a lot of Division-1 players come through here, but I could tell in middle school that the ball skills he had that continued through high school, you could tell.”
Former Cougars wide receivers D.J. Parker and T.J. Simmons also recognized that Collins was on the path to the NFL immediately.
“The first day he came here,” said Parker from the 50-yard line at Cougar Stadium. “I played the same position with him the whole time, and during the summer, he wanted to be a basketball player and thought he was going to the NBA, and then one day it just clicked. You see him starting to go over players’ heads to make a catch. I said, ‘If he sticks with it, the sky is the limit.”
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who played alongside talented wide receivers like New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson during his time at Ohio State University, quickly recognizes talent at that position.
During Stroud’s rookie season, with everything on the line in a Week 18 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on the road, the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year relied heavily on Collins’ talents as he finished the game with nine catches for 195 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The 23-19 victory over the Colts helped secure a playoff spot and ultimately led to the AFC South championship.
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| Photo Courtesy: Houston Texans |
“I told him our first time ever working out together, I said, ‘You’re a superstar,’” said Stroud during his postgame press conference. “I never even snapped the ball in the league, but I just know good receivers. I played where we have tremendous receivers.
“I told him, my goal is to make you look as best as you can, to make you look like you. I appreciate him just being just a consistent, great friend to me, somebody who I can just let my hair down with, and I think our chemistry shows on the field. Our friendship shows on the field. I’m super proud of that dude, man. It’s just the beginning for him.”
With 1,297 receiving yards on 80 catches and eight touchdowns in 2023, a career best, he became the third player in franchise history to reach 1,200 receiving yards, joining DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson.
Collins was rewarded with a three-year, $72.5 million contract extension, which included a $52.0 million guarantee before the start of the 2024 season.
Most players aim to secure a second contract to alleviate financial burdens as they continue playing the game they loved as a child. For Collins, securing guaranteed money meant he could support his immediate family and also make a difference in his hometown.
“It starts with a village,” said Deshon Collins, Nico’s older brother. “He has been in that situation of being small and having role models to look up to, helping him to get where he is. I love my brother for becoming the man, not just an NFL player, but the person he has become, and I know that it is only up from here.”