This Season, Collins Could Be Passed By : Opposition Might Steer Clear of Outstanding Fullerton Cornerback

Mark Collins already owns the Cal State Fullerton record for career interceptions with 15. One Saturday in 1983, he grabbed four to establish a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. single-game mark.

The two largest pro scouting services rate him as one of the country’s top two senior cornerbacks, so Collins figures to be coming down with the ball more often than some of the Titan receivers this season, right?

There’s almost nothing Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy would rather see, of course, but he’s not looking for too many four-interception games from Collins in 1985.

It’s not that Collins has lost a step or anything . . . in fact, it was his speed in a 40-yard dash drill that had a group of pro scouts making frantic notations on their clipboards last spring.

The problem is that the opposition sees those scouting reports, too, and, well, Murphy and Co. are afraid Collins might see limited action.

You have Collins, the only PCAA player to make the Sporting News’ preseason All-America team, at one cornerback and either a redshirt freshman (James Howard) or seldom-used senior (Vernon Norwood) at the other cornerback spot.

As Steve Hall, Titan secondary coach, puts it: “Which one would you throw at?”

So, the Fullerton coaching staff is trying to devise ways to get the player some consider the best in the conference involved in their defense.

“If they completely refuse to throw his way we’ll flip him on their best receiver, no matter where he lines up, and at least take one spoke out of their offensive wheel,” Murphy said.

Hall has other tricks in mind.

“We’ll get him involved,” he said. “If they are a wide-side throwing team, we’ll put him on the wide side. Or we’ll put him on their top receiver. Or we’ll go with their down-and-distance tendencies and move him around a lot.

“If they go away from their game that much to avoid him, we’ll have them in the palms of our hands.”

The ball, however, might not make it into Collins’ hands that much. Apparently, that doesn’t bother him at all.

“Interceptions don’t mean anything,” Collins said. “Sure, they’re great when you get them. But they’re only fun when you win. If they stay away from me and we win, I’m happy.”

That was somewhat the case last season. The Titans were 11-1 on the field. Collins managed to get six interceptions, but he had considerably fewer chances than in his freshman and sophomore seasons when he was positioned opposite the Titans’ All-PCAA cornerback, Lee Miller.

Last season, most teams seemed intent on beating Collins long early in the game and then gave up by halftime and concentrated on the other side of field. Opponents figured that beating Fullerton’s best right away would give them an emotional advantage.

It didn’t work out that way, though. Collins was not beaten deep once in ‘84, and, as Hall is quick to point out, “he didn’t give up much short, either.”

Collins taketh away, but he seldom giveth. This is a young man who is visibly upset when a teammate catches a short sideline pattern in front of him during practice.

“He’s played since he was a freshman,” Murphy said. “He’s strong. He’s fast. He’s always been confident in his ability. The only thing I have to do is chase him out of the weight room once in awhile. He lifts until he gets too big.”

Collins is a member of the last class of Fullerton’s Old Guard--the players who suffered through the lean years (the Titans were 3-9 his freshman season) and have also basked in the glory of Fullerton’s back-to-back conference championships.

After two years of high times, the rebuilding Titans could be facing some emotional lows in 1985. The conference coaches picked Fullerton to finish fifth. The media was slightly more generous, voting the Titans third.

“My attitude, and our attitude, is there’s no reason why we can’t go 6-1 or 7-0 and win our conference,” Collins said. “We know the job at hand and we know how to get it done. We lost a lot of good guys but we’ve got a lot of players who we’re good back-ups last year.

“And we’re motivated.”

Ask Collins the most important attribute for a cornerback and he’s quick to say: “Brains.”

But it doesn’t hurt to be quick, fast, strong, prepared . . . and don’t forget motivated.

“Mark Collins’ mental approach to this game is better than excellent,” Hall said. “That’s the only way I can think to describe it. He’s a student of the game, he researches it. He watches a great deal of film and he’s a tremendous competitor, even in practice.”

Murphy was expounding on Collins’ mental toughness when he was asked if his star cornerback might be in for a frustrating season.

“It’s just a matter of maintaining your concentration,” Murphy said. “It’ll be sort of like playing right field in a doubleheader and not getting a single ball all day. Then next game you get 18 chances.”

And Murphy would be very surprised if Collins lets many of those opportunities slip through his fingers.