Collins visits Hogs, mulling over decision

Alex Collins officially signed his letter of intent with the Razorbacks.

Running back is an area of great need for Arkansas in the 2013 recruiting class and the Hogs hosted one of the best in the nation, Alex Collins over the weekend for an official visit.

Collins, 5-11, 210, 4.4 seconds in the 40 yard dash, of South Plantation, Florida high school is rated a 4-star recruit by national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network. Before arriving in Fayetteville, he previously visited Miami, Florida, Florida State and Wisconsin.

"Overall it was a great visit," said Collins of Arkansas. "I had a chance to sit down and meet with the players That was good. So overall I think I had a good time."

Collins, who played and was teammates with Razorback quarterback commitment Austin Allen in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Carson, California on Jan.4, didn't play football during his freshman and sophomore years.

As a junior, he rushed 228 times for 1,786 yards and 28 touchdowns and was named Broward County Player of the Year while playing in Class 8A, the highest classification in Florida. As a senior Collins rushed for 1,400 yards while missing three games.

In a previous interview, South Plantation Coach Doug Gatewood said Collins gained his yardage against top competition.

"When you watch some of these kids highlight videos, they go 50 yards against good team and against a 2A team run for 300 yards," Gatewood said. "Every team we play against has 50 kids on the team, the school has 2,000. 3,000 students so the yardage he's getting is against good quality teams. Last year, he ran for almost 200 yards in every game."

Arkansas redshirt freshman safety Rohan Gaines was Collins' host for the visit.

"We had a lot of fun hanging out," Collins said. "We were joking about going to the basketball court. I was telling I was going to dunk on him . He said he's not going to let it happen. He said he's the better athlete. It's that kind of competitiveness that I like."

The personable and engaging Collins is looking to go into broadcasting once his playing days are over. He was able to tour Arkansas' journalism department and came away impressed the facility and the interaction he received from the faculty.

"I actually got to talk to the professor," Collins said. "The professor let you know they're personable and they like to get to know their students. It's just not the athlete. They like to get know everyone. That's a good thing the professors will actually take the time to sit down and try to get know the students and not just be the professor all the time."

Collins said he'll talk things over with his mother and coach before announcing his decision on Feb. 4.

"It will be ultimately where I feel the most comfortable and where I can thrive academically and athletically," Collins said. "That's where I'll end up going."

Once committed to Miami, Collins acknowledged the Hurricanes being investigated by the NCAA and the delayed decision on possible sanctions makes a decision difficult.

"It's hard trying to make my decision and trying to guess on how the punishment," Collins said. "I'll try and wait to see what happens and if nothing happens I'll try and still make my decision."