Kerry Collins

Kerry Collins (born December 30, 1972 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania) is an American football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the fifth overall pick of the 1995 NFL Draft (first draft choice in franchise history).

College career
Collins played at Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pennsylvania. He played college football at Penn State, where he earned many awards in football. As quarterback, he was named All-American in 1994 by the Associated Press, United Press International, The Football News, Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp and The Sporting News. Collins also captured two of college football’s major postseason prizes — the Maxwell Award, presented to the nation’s outstanding player, and the Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the nation’s top quarterback. Collins finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year. In addition, he was chosen UPI Back-of-the-Year and garnered Player-of-the-Year honors from ABC-TV/Chevrolet and the Big Ten Conference. Collins made a serious run at the NCAA season passing efficiency record, falling just four points short (172.8), the fourth-highest figure in NCAA annals. He broke Penn State season records for total offense (2,660), completions (176), passing yardage (2,679), completion percentage (66.7), yards per attempt (10.15) and passing efficiency (172.86). He had 14 consecutive completions at Minnesota, another Penn State record. Collins was the linchpin of an explosive offense that shattered 14 school records and led the nation in scoring (47.8 ppg.) and total offense (520.2 ypg.). With 5,304 career passing yards, Collins ranks third in Penn State annals and is one of only three quarterbacks to top 5,000 yards through the air. With Collins at quarterback, the 1994 Nittany Lions completed an undefeated season, the fifth under coach Joe Paterno, capped by a Rose Bowl win over Pac-10 Champion Oregon. His team was voted #1 by the by the New York Times, although they were voted #2 behind undefeated Nebraska in the traditional polls (AP Poll and Coaches' Poll) used to determine Division 1-A champions prior to the BCS era.

Carolina Panthers
Collins was selected as the Carolina Panthers' first round pick (fifth overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft. He was the first player ever chosen by the Panthers in the annual college draft, though other players—some free agents, as well as players from the expansion draft—had previously signed with the team. In his three seasons with the Panthers, he threw for 7,295 yards, 39 touchdowns and 49 interceptions. His completion percentage was 52.6% and his quarterback rating was 65.6. In his second season, he led the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game.

Collins threw 21 interceptions during the 1997 season and the Panthers finished 7–9, just one season after advancing to the NFC Championship.

Carolina started the 1998 season with Collins as its starting quarterback. After an 0-4 start, Collins walked into head coach Dom Capers' office and, as Collins later put it, "told Coach Capers my heart's not in it, I'm not happy, and I don't feel like I can play right now." He asked to be traded, but was instead placed on waivers by Carolina during the 1998 season and subsequently signed by the New Orleans Saints.

Collins would later say that he did not intend to quit the team, only to sit out for a few weeks. However, Capers interpreted his request as quitting on the team and he was released. He later admitted that much of his erratic behavior was due to his struggles with alcoholism. After being arrested for drunk driving later that year, he was ordered by the NFL to seek treatment for alcohol abuse.

Battles with alcoholism
Before the 1997 season got underway, Collins' private battle with alcoholism started to make public headlines. In a highly publicized incident, on the last night of Carolina Panthers training camp in 1997, Collins used the offensive racial slur "nigger" in reference to black teammate Muhsin Muhammad while in a drunken state at a bar in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Supposedly, Collins also inadvertently slurred offensive lineman Norberto Garrido, who is of Hispanic descent. It was widely rumored that Garrido punched Collins in the eye as a result, although this was later proven false. Collins had stated that, in his intoxicated state, he thought the use of the racial epithet would help him and his teammates bond.

On November 2, 1998, Collins was arrested for drunk driving in Charlotte, North Carolina. He finished the 1998 season in New Orleans and signed with the New York Giants as a free agent on February 19, 1999. Not long after signing with New York, Collins decided to seek treatment for his alcoholism. He entered a rehabilitation clinic in Topeka, Kansas.

While a member of the New York Giants, Collins remained in therapy for four years. As a member of the Tennessee Titans, he readdressed the 1997 racial slur incident, explaining that "The guys were talking to each other that way, and I was trying to be funny and thought I could do it, too. I was so upset by it. It was bad judgment. I could have been labeled a racist for the rest of my career. I had to live with the way I used that word with a teammate. Extremely poor judgment. I was naïve to think I could use that word in any context."

New York Giants
Collins started the 1999 season as the Giants' second-string quarterback, but soon claimed the starting job. In the 2000 season Collins led the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens. During the 2001 season, Collins set a single-season NFL record with 23 fumbles (Collins' record was tied in 2002 by then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper). After five seasons, sixty-eight starts and 16,875 yards in New York, Collins was released by the Giants in 2004. The team had already signed former league MVP Kurt Warner and traded for 2004's #1 draft pick, Eli Manning. After his release, Collins signed a three-year, $16.82 million contract with the Oakland Raiders.

Oakland Raiders
Collins began the 2004 season as the team's backup to Rich Gannon, but took over the starting role when Gannon suffered a neck injury in the third week of the regular season. Collins was the team's starting quarterback for the 2005 season, subsequent to Gannon's retirement.

The 2005 Raiders season started off well for Collins, but he was benched after a Week 13 loss to the San Diego Chargers. However, he regained his starting job two weeks later against the Cleveland Browns (a 9–7 loss at home). After two seasons and a 7–21 record with the Raiders, Collins was cut on March 10, 2006 in what was at least partially a move designed to free space with the salary cap.

Early Years
On August 28, 2006, Collins agreed in principle to a deal of unknown length and money with the Tennessee Titans. After three games, all losses for the Titans, Collins had completed fewer than half his passes, and had thrown one touchdown and six interceptions. Vince Young, who played extensively as a substitute in the second game, started the fourth through sixth games while Collins saw no playing time in any of them. On March 5, 2007 he re-signed with the Titans.

2008 Season
After Titans quarterback Vince Young was injured against Jacksonville on September 7, 2008, Collins finished the game and was named the Titans starting quarterback for the rest of 2008 later that week. On September 21, 2008, Collins became just the 15th player in NFL history to pass for more than 35,000 yards. Coming into the game against the Houston Texans, Collins needed only 90 yards to eclipse the mark. On his ninth completion of 13 attempts, Collins completed a 17-yard pass to Justin McCareins to give him 107 yards on the day and 35,007 yards for his career.

The Titans finished the regular season with a record of 13–3, top seed in the playoffs, and a first round bye. In the divisional round they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. A last minute field goal by Matt Stover won the game for the Ravens. Collins indicated after the season that he would like to play next year, but only as a starter. Collins replaced Jets quarterback Brett Favre in the 2009 Pro Bowl, after first alternate Philip Rivers pulled out. He re-signed with the Titans on February 27, 2009. His new contract is worth $15 million, with $8.5 million guaranteed over two years.

2009 Season
Collins returned as the team's starting quarterback for the beginning of the 2009 season. In the first week of Regular Season play the Titans fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-10. In week two the Titans again lost. This time to the Houston Texans by a score of 34-31. In week three they lost to the New York Jets 24-17. In the fourth week they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars by 37-17. In the fifth week they lost to Indianapolis Colts 31-9. In the sixth week they were humiliated by New England Patriots 59-0. After that loss and a 0-6 record on the season, coach Jeff Fisher replaced Collins as starting quarterback with Vince Young, three days before the November 1, 2009 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fisher has said that he is against this decision, saying that the problems with the team are unrelated to quarterback play, but he made the substitution after being urged by Titans owner Bud Adams to do so. The Titans won 5 straight games with Young as quarterback, and later finished the season 8-8.

Awards

 * Won the 1994 Maxwell Award (Nation's top college player)
 * Won the 1994 Davey O'Brien Award (Nation's top college quarterback)
 * Selected to the NFL Pro Bowl following the 1996 season.
 * Selected to the NFL Pro Bowl following the 2008 season.

Charity
Throughout his career, Collins has been one of the NFL's most charitable players. Immediately upon signing his rookie contract with the Carolina Panthers, he donated $250,000 to the Penn State athletic department to permanently endow the quarterback position. He has donated over two million dollars to charities such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Harlem Boys Choir. In 2001, Collins donated $120,000 to Manhattan's Ladder 5/Engine 24 Family Relief following the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.

Through the KC for Kids Fund of the Kerry Collins Foundation, Collins has donated more than $500,000 for the renovation of the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, a children's unit within the NYU Medical Center. Previously Collins donated $100,000 to the Institute, to establish the Kerry M. Collins Computer Center and Classroom, with specially modified equipment for children with disabilities.

During the 2005 season, Collins pledged $1,000 for every touchdown he threw and every game the Raiders won to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief fund. On March 24, 2006, Collins was honored by The Second Mile Foundation in recognition of his commitment to others.

Family
Collins and his wife, Brooke, have a daughter named Riley. The family splits time between Nashville, Tennessee and Asheboro, North Carolina.