Lael Collins puts family above football, fame and fortune all of which are headed his way now that hes arguably the top offensive line prospect in the 2015 NFL Draft.Girded on all sides growing
Cam Robinson Jersey up by his mother, siblings and grandparents, there was never space or time to long for the father who wasnt there. There was too much joy in the here and now and too many memories being made to reserve room for regrets.MORE: Mock Draft | Top-10 landing spots for Mariota | Bevy of first-round running backs Collins, on the verge of stardom, isnt looking back on what could have been with Theotis Collins. Instead, father and son are constructing something all together new, something they lost when Theotis Collins was sent to prison ."My dad, he was incarcerated early on in my life,"La'el Collins, a 6-5, 322-pound tackle from LSU, told Sporting News. "He ended up getting out probably a year ago now. We're building a relationship and really getting to know each other on that level."It's been going great. I'm proud of what he's already accomplished since he's been out. I continue to motivate him and we motivate each other. I just look forward to the future."That includes being a surefirst-round pick. It also means becoming the first LSU lineman drafted since Alan Faneca in 1998.Collins has already met privately with the Panthers and Ravens and will participate in LSU's pro day Friday. A left tackle in college, he is projected by many as a right tackle in the NFL
Earl Watford Jersey . Stanford's Andrus Peat and Iowa's Brandon Scherff pose the most top-tackle competition for Collins in the draft, but all three should land in the first
Calais Campbell Jersey round.Sporting News contributor and draft expert Eric Galko describes Collins as a "mauling run-blocker" who could fit in well with the Chiefs if they don't instead pick up a badly-needed wide receiver early. SB Nation described Collins as "consistenly boring..and that's good." Fine-tuning his technique to pair with elite physical tools will be his immediate challenge no matter where he ends up. It's a challenge Collins says he is up for and he'salready making strides.MORE: Big Board: Top 100 prospects He was solid at the NFLScouting Combine and hopes to build on that in upcoming workouts."I was able to display the things I knew I was going to be able to display just by the work I put in,"he said. "Everybody helped me come up with a great plan and I executed it."I'm a tough critic ofmyself. I know my goals and I know where I want to be. So just being able to really, I gue s, put myself in that position has been good. I just feel like I can go out and compete against the best of them. For me, I'm extremely confident going in. I just have to continue working hard."He learned that from
Allen Robinson Jersey lots of people around him, including his mother, Loyetta Collins, who workedlong hours as a security guard. Collins is one of five children, landing right in the middle."I'm very family oriented,"he said. "Thats just how I was raised to be. Always surrounded by family, I don't feel like I mi sed anything."And none of them are mi sing this special moment in his life.