NC State WR Dacari Collins ‘more confident’ going into fall
This time last year, NC State’s coaching staff had some questions about wide receiver Dacari Collins. He transferred in from Clemson, but the Wolfpack was not sure whether or not the 6-foot-4 route runner was the right fit in the program’s culture.
He worked on it throughout camp, earning playing time in the Pack’s 45-24 loss to No. 10 Notre Dame, where he caught a pass for a 23-yard touchdown, but still Collins wasn’t completely right.
As Collins tried to assimilate in a new program, he was costing the Wolfpack yards on the field. The wideout had three false start penalties in a two-week period between NC State’s win over Marshall and its loss at Duke in Weeks 6 and 7. A high total for a route runner looking to earn his coaches’ trust.
Following NC State’s trip to Durham, the Pack had a sitdown meeting with Collins to try to right the ship. And, frankly, that’s when it all clicked for him.
“After we lost to Duke, I had a couple mistakes. After that, we had an understanding that it’s a family thing and we had to put it together,” Collins said Tuesday. “That was a big thing for us in the last five games [last year.]”
From there on, Collins’ snap counts increased. He hadn’t played more than 17 plays through the first eight games, but that number rose to 33 at Wake Forest and got as high as 48 in the Wolfpack’s 39-20 win over archrival North Carolina.
The wideout became an uber productive outside receiver for the Wolfpack in the team’s last four games, hauling in nine receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown against the Tar Heels. He accumulated 68% of his receiving yards over the span, quickly becoming an option towards the top of the depth chart.
Collins finished his first year at NC State with 14 receptions for 212 yards and two touchdowns.
For NC State wide receivers coach Joker Phillips, watching Collins’ growth has been remarkable in a year’s time.
“He became a guy that we became excited about,” Phillips said. “It took game seven for him to buy into our culture. Now, he’s a huge part of it.”
Collins went from someone that the program wasn’t sure was going to work out in Raleigh to being a leader within the outside receivers room. He and Jakolbe Baldwin are the only two returning players at the position, joined by Ohio State transfer Noah Rogers, Wake Forest’s Wesley Grimes, and freshmen Terrell Anderson and Tank Boston. Collins embraced NC State’s “Hard, Tough, Together” mindset, and has been able to relate to the newcomers within the Wolfpack’s offense.
He’s more confident now, which is very apparent when Collins speaks, and that has translated into his place on the team. Not only is he leading the group, but Collins has a leg up on the competition in finding his way towards the top of the depth chart.
Collins and Rogers are the likely starters in the group, and his place on the depth chart came through believing in himself.
“Buying in and just trusting myself, feeling more confident in a new system, that has helped me a lot,” Collins said. “And just my ‘why’ thinking about that every day, it just brings me great joy and excitement to help lead my guys and to get better every day.”
His “why” is his family and God, both pieces of the puzzle that Collins said helped get him to where he is now. Not only is he more comfortable with NC State’s offense and its system, but the game has slowed down through his studying of defenses.
Collins, who seems due for a breakout campaign this fall, has done everything he needed to grow within NC State’s scheme. He has better habits this fall, Collins said, while creating a consistent routine has become beneficial for the wideout.
In the end, it came through working on his mental skills over the offseason as much as he was on the physical side of things.
“That’s the basis of the game,” Collins said. “The game is not really as hard as long as you work on your mental [skills.] I feel like that helps you in all the areas. Physicality, being with your guys, going through film, I feel like all that helps, but it’s just the mental.”
Now, as Collins prepares for NC State’s season opener against Western Carolina on Aug. 29 at Carter-Finley Stadium, he’s ready for an expanded role. He’s no longer the player with question marks on the roster.
Instead, Collins is driven and ready to make an impact with high expectations abound in Raleigh.
“I’m more confident this year,” Collins said. “Just excited to be on another journey with my guys. I’m excited.”
The post NC State WR Dacari Collins ‘more confident’ going into fall appeared first on On3.
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