Interview by Henry Petron
Written by Michael Baker
11th grader Nasir Collins has been named Mount Union Area High School Male Athlete of the Month for September. Collins won the award after being nominated by several Mount Union Area High School staff members. Collins was recognized this month for his play on the Mount Union football team but also will be participating in baseball and basketball later in the school year. Staff members listed Collins’ “amazing athletic skills” and that he “carries the brunt of the running game for the football team” as the main reasons that they nominated him.
Those familiar with Collins’ are probably not surprised to hear him described as an amazing athlete and credited with major contributions to the Trojan’s rushing attack. So far this year, Collins is averaging 157.5 yard per game rushing and has already racked up 9 rushing touchdowns for the season.
Collins has recently been able to show off his athleticism and versatility on the football field after an injury to starting sophomore quarterback Maddox Hobbs resulted in Collins needing to play quarterback. In his limited time as a quarterback, Collins has already managed to throw for 54 yards and add on a passing touchdown. Collins also plays free safety for the Trojans where he is averaging 7.5 tackles per game along with a 48-yard interception.
Collins started his athletic journey early, starting to play sports at just 4 years old. Collins fell in love with sports on and off the field. In his free time, Collins is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies and Phoenix Suns. Collins stated that his favorite athletes are Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Saquon Barkley, and Brian Dawkins. Irving is also Collins’ biggest inspiration saying that he “cares about the sport, he’s kind, and religious.”
Collins said his favorite memory of playing sports was the time his teeth got knocked out. When asked what animal he would be if he could be any animal Collins responded, “an eagle, so I could fly over everyone.”
When asked about his goals for the reason of the season Collins said he wants to beat the single season rushing yard record as well as the all-time rushing yard record at Mount Union. Beyond high school, Collins said his goal is to play in the National Football League someday.
Collins and the rest of the Mount Union football team currently sit at 3-1 on the season with six games left to play. Four of those six remaining games will be at home including games against Moshannon Valley. Juniata Valley, Claysburg-Kimmel, and Meyersdale.