Fastest LB in the USA
By Greg Shepard Last Au gust d uring preseason football practice, Todd Collins was instructed to run a forty by his coaches at Carson-Newman College. Veteran coaches Ken Sparks and Bill Mitchell looked at their watches and couldn't believe it. Head Coach Sparks exclaimed, "He ran his first 40 in 4.3 so we tried it again and he ran 4.3 again!" Todd modestly countered, "It's probabl y not a true 4.3. I ran three more 40's after that and they were all in the 4.4 range." Coach Sparks shook his head, "This is a guy 6-3, 236, that is coming off major knee surgery. Talk about a horse like he is that can run like that - unbelievable." Well maybe it is? And where and what is CarsonNewman?
And if he can run that fast at that size, what's he doing at - what's the name of that plac e ag ain? And what's this about major knee surgery? Are these gu ys ready for the funny farm or way out there in Pluto land? Well buckle your chin straps folks and get read y for a g rea t motivational story. Todd has been on the BFS program for a long time. He was our Bigger Faster Stro ng er Athlete-of-the-Year back in 1988. In fact, Todd w as one of th e most d ecorated athletes in high school football histo ry. Besid es being a first team All-American by USA Today, Super Prep , and Parad e magazines, he was also USA Today's Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Todd worked tremendously hard and smart.
He knew what to do in high scho ol and said, "The Bigger Faster Stronger videos really helped. The Speed and PIyometric vid eo s were supe r. See ing Stefan rea lly ins p ired me. Before, I couldn't touch the rim, and in just 21 / 2 months I started dunking with a 360 turn. It w as unbelievable . I jumped over the tennis net like Stef an and over high hurdles like in the vide o. The speed video with Stefan also has helped me down to a 4.75 forty. My lateral speed also really im proved ." While at Jefferson Co u nty High Schoo l in Tennessee, Todd led his team to a per fect 15-0 sta te cha mpionship se ason. He w as 6-3, 228, wi th a 4.57 forty and 40-inch verti cal jump.
Todd also Benched 360, Squa tted 575, and Cleaned 300 pounds! To top things off, Todd was a great stude nt and a fine Ch ristian. Some felt that Todd Collins "Everybody knows Todd is a great pla yer but he also got a unanim ou s vote as team lead er. He ha s spiritual lead ership capabilities. The players see it in his actions, not just words . . After his knee surge ry, Todd worked hard everyday to recover. He's ove rcome things most people have a hard time with. Todd is so much fun. We w ent o n a leadership conference up in the mountains for two days in August. We called it our family outing. It was a time we became close.
Plyometrics Play A Huge Role In Developing Speedand Power.
Head Coach Ken Sparks, Carson-Newman College was the top recruit of the nation. Todd literally had his choice of any school in the nation but chose Georgia for two reasons. It w as close to hom e and his brother Brent was already there playing. It seemed like a rosy future for Todd . Wha t could go wro ng . So far his life had been like a dream. Maybe there's a purpose for adversity - that it makes us better and stro nge r in the long ru n. Well, Tod d was abou t to go throu gh a lot of ad versity and man y tests of faith. During the first day of practice, Tod d broke his foot wi th severe torn ligam ents. He w as a lways in re ha b i li ta tio n .
To m a k e m atters wo rs e, Todd go t m on o . " It go t discouragin g," reme mbered Tod d, "I had a lot of high expectations, 1 wa nted to go out and show them but I was n' t allowed to do an ything." Then, Brent left Geo rgia to play for Ca rson-New man college in their hom etown . "I was a t a real low." said Todd qui etly. "Brent w as a big factor in me coming to Georgia. I talked to Coac h Dooley and he sig ned a release for me to play with Coach Majors at Tennessee." Todd was w illing to give up one yea r of eligibility. He still wanted to play ma jor college football and Tennessee was only 25 miles from home.
Anyway, local people had hated to see him leave to the enemy down in Georgia so they we re glad to see him back. Todd's recovery went well but then he sepa rated the AC joint in his shoulder. He kept trying but los t ou t on Sp rin g foot ba ll. Hurt and low again, Todd d id a lot of thinking. "My brother go t drafted in the seventh round by Buffalo. I wanted to play pro ball so I figured if Bren t could do it, 1cou ld ." One week before August practices, Todd transferred to Carson -Newm an College. Since they are an NAIA school, Todd wo uld have no loss in eligibility like he wo uld a t NCAA Tennessee.
However, during the seco nd ga me of the 1989 season, Todd tore up his ankle and missed three weeks. As he bega n limited prac tice, he suffered a sev ere thigh brui se w hich cos t him another three wee ks. Carso n-New ma n is locat ed in Todd 's home to wn of Jefferson Ci ty, Tennessee. Coach Ken Sparks has a n amazi ng 60-10 record at their hom e stad ium and at th is writing has an ov era ll reco rd of 110-30-1 with 5 nati on al NA IA Division 1 footb all champions hips si nce 1983. This ye a r Ca rso n-Ne w ma n is und efeat ed and ranked numb er 0;1e aga in.
Founded in 1851, the college is affiliated with the Tenn essee Baptist Conve ntion and has more than 50 areas of stud y to choos e from. Anyway, after that d iscou rag ing 1989 season, Todd had a good off-seaso n and made it thr ou gh 1990 Spring ball without incident. However, he soon go t into a motorcycle accident. Tod d broke and dislocated his thumb and missed a lot of his summer wo rkouts. He wa s in a cast for nearly four weeks. Things looked good d uring last year's season but then it happen ed in the 8t h game. It just snapped. Todd shred de d the anterior cruciate and dest royed the lateral collatera l ligam ent of his knee.
Tod d und erwent surgery durin g Th anksgivin g in Birmingham , Alab a ma w ith Dr. James And rews who has d on e s urgery o n many famous athl et es incl u di ng Bo Jackso n. "Dr. And rews told me th at if 1 wan ted to rehabilitate hard, I could make it - that it was all up to me ." Todd spent 8 months of intense rehabilitation. "Every thing came back better tha n before," beam ed Todd . "I go t my confide nce back up during two-a-days and runn ing that 4.3 fort y was fantastic." Five months after surgery, Tod d pos ted a 211 lb. reading on the Cybe x machine. Two months later, he was the stro ngest tha t Dr. And rews had eve r seen with a 240 lb. effort.
Todd also had a 40-inch ve rtical ju mp, an 11-9 stand ing lon g jump and di d a 4.52 "Todd is self motivated . 1 just line him up and say "Go Get 'e m." He's a once in a lifetime kid to coach. Todd makes it fun . I've had about 10 All-Ame rican linebackers and Todd's the best. H is personality see med perfect for us. Todd's the kind of guy that's always trying to ge t better." Bill Mitchell: Lineb acker Coach, Carson~Newman Todd Made Vast Improvement In Speed and Jumping Upon Seeing Our Speed and Plyo Video In High School Daily Flexibility Work Is One Of The Key Ingredients To Blazing Speed.
TODD COLLINS AMERICA'S FASTEST LINEBACKER Todd Has Parallel Squatted 620 Lbs.
Todd May Have Set A Record For Intensity In Knee Rehabilitaion Workouts .
Forty; sev en months after surgery. His bench soared to 425 pounds with an amazing 5% body fat level. Dr. Andrews said that Parallel Squats were fine and so Todd trained hard during the in-season by doing Benches, Squats and Cleans. The Parallel Squats came back fast. Even at the end of the summer.Todd was able to do 400 pounds with 8 reps with no problem. Despite all the injury problems and playing for an NAIA school, Todd was ranked last September as the nation's 7th best linebacker as only a junior. Todd's agent Zach Cisco, feels if Todd can continue to remain healthy, he could be a first round draft choice this year. "My e xperience at Carson-Newman has been great,"related Todd.
"The coaches are super. I've loved it. Coach Sparks is a strong Christian and provides a wonderful atmosphere. My linebacker coach, Bill Mitchell, well, I love him to death . He's really pushed me and helped me to be mentally tough. The best thing is that he makes it fun ." I then read Todd's message that he gave back in our 1988 BFS Journal and he remarked, "That's good for me to hear again. My trials have built character. It's made me a better person. I still stay away from alcohol. I've never had a beer in college. I still don't know an ything about steroids. I've never seen anybody inject or take steroids. I still stand by everything in that 1988 message."
We thank Todd, his coaches and parents for being Upper Limit. Here's Todd's message as he gave it three years ago : "Success comes from within. Never let anybody put you down. Do what you can do-do your best. Never be satisfied with any accomplishment. Always strive to be better. God has given us the common sense to know what's right and wrong. Use that inner feeling. Heart power is what's important. Use it; stay off drugs, for example. "Be your own person. That's the best way to combat peer pressure. It takes guts to stand up and say 'No' but after awhile they leave you alone. We didn't have drugs around our school. However, alcohol was big. It's common sense for me to stay away.
I spend to much time bustin' my butt to get better. It's insane to put something into your body to tear it down. My real friends and buddies, we stick together. I'd say choose your friends carefully. True friends won't get you into a bad situation. In today's world, true friends are hard to come by. "I've never seen steroids, but I don't plan to even think about them . I don 't want to ever depend on some artificial aid. I want to do everything on my own. I feel the best thing to happen to me is growing up in a Christian home. My motivation and inspiration comes from the Lord. I know the body is the temple of God, so I take care of it. Being in the FCA has been important and good .
The spiritual things are lasting and eternal. I've gone to FCA camps in North Carolina, and they have been a tremendous source of spiritual strength. My father, mother, and whole family have been close spiritually, so I pretty much know what's right."
From BFS Magazine — Winter 1991. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
