North Pike head football coach Chris Smith can still hear the pleas from junior varsity head coach James Coney.
“He always used to say, ‘Don’t give him the ball anymore,’ ” Smith said.
The “him” was North Pike wide receiver Tonnie Collins. The reason for separating Collins from the football — so Jaguars’ opponents didn’t have that same opportunity.
“He used to have a big problem with turnovers and dropped passes when he first started playing here,” Smith said of Collins.
Times have changed since Collins’ freshman year, and so have the calls from the Jaguars’ sideline.
“Now I hear, ‘Get him the ball,’ ” Smith said. “That shows how far he’s come.”
In fact, Collins, now a senior, leads the Jaguars this season in receptions (26), yards receiving (678) and receiving touchdowns (8).
In North Pike’s 48-12 win over South Pike last Friday night, Collins reeled in four catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns. His work helped the Jaguars clinch the Region 7-4A crown and earned him Enterprise-Journal Player of the Week honors.
Against the Eagles last Friday, Collins scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Revis Butler that put the Jaguars ahead for good, then added a 43-yard hookup with Butler in the third quarter as North Pike pulled away.
Collins, the son of former Pike County Sheriiff’s Department Sgt. Tonnie Collins Sr., describes himself as a humble person who likes to make people laugh off the field.
“I’m real goofy,” he said. “I’m the kind of person who likes to crack a joke.”
Collins said he has come into his own as the Jaguars’ split end this season due to the support of his coaches.
“They’re always pushing us to work hard,” he said. “Here, we’re all on the same level. We all work the same way and we all run the same plays. My coach calls my plays. I try to make them.”
Collins called his performance Friday “a dream” after he received a call from his cousin, former Ole Miss wide receiver Chris Collins, who played for former Rebels and now New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
“He told me to play just like I’m playing sandlot football,” Collins said. “He told me to just go out and have fun.
“I always knew (the Jaguars) were going to be good,” Collins added. “This whole season has been like winning a million dollars. It’s been like winning the lottery.”
Collins predicted that North Pike, which takes on Greene County Friday in the opening round of state Class 4A playoffs.
“All the way — if we stay where we are right now, we’re going all the way,” he said.
The best may still be to come for Collins. His work at North Pike has drawn interest from several colleges, including Ole Miss, Alcorn State, Arkansas State, Mississippi State, Southern Louisiana, Clemson and Northwestern Louisiana, all of which have sent the 6-foot, 185-pounder letters of interest. Collins has taken it all in stride.
“My dream is to play in the NFL,” he said. “Whatever comes, comes.”
