Matt Ryan may be my closest comparison, but that works for me. Over the course of his three years playing wide receiver, Collinsworth hauled in 120 passes for a total of 1,937 yards. Does that mean he knows that anybody with a build that would conjure up ungainly comparisons from Don Knotts to Ichabod Crane shouldn't even think about being selected in the first round of any NFL Draft? "I'm going to guess that Lindy Infante made it up," Collinsworth says of the tale. Despite a cordial chat with legendary coach Paul Bear Bryant, who wanted him to be his option quarterback, and a recruiting pitch from eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, Collinsworth chose to play quarterback for coach Doug Dickey at the University of Florida. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. I could see Cullen drawing up crazy blitz schemes to take advantage of his skill set. [5] They moved to nearby Titusville in 1972, where his brother and he attended Astronaut High School, while their father was the principal. Good quickness on cuts. Cris Collinsworth: Picture of productivity. "I figured there was no way they were going to take another receiver," Collinsworth says. His tight spirals and ease of release really are something to watch. (Complete Story), The Life And Career Of Corey Dillon (Complete Story), What Happened To Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson? It has taken me 52 years to say what I really have wanted to say about this, so I will let the venom slowly seep out. No one projected that in their reports. Cris Collinsworth's 40 time was 4.38 seconds. [24], Collinsworth is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. Wilson floats around the pocket like Joe Montana and flicks the ball like an Aaron Rodgers. Cris definitely ran by a lot of "speed corners" for the reasons he said, but he also could sink his hips and get in and out of cuts and get separation. This was a tough choice. The start is not relevant. He began his career with the Gators as a run-first quarterback but transitioned to wide receiver as a sophomore and was a First-Team All-SEC selection for three consecutive seasons, also earning All-American honors in 1980 as a senior. I am not sure if the Patriots would prefer Mac Jones or Justin Fields, so I gave them my choice: Justin Fields. His flaws will be as an inline blocker and any route that requires him to stop quickly and come back to the ball, but when he is moving forward, Pitts is almost unstoppable. ", Infante compared Verser's fluid running style to future Steelers Hall of Famer Lynn Swann: "We were looking for someone who can beat the bump-and-run coverage, a guy who's quick enough and strong enough to outmaneuver individuals in the defensive secondary.". February 13, 2023 Space Coast Daily News Brevard Countys Best Newspaper, WATCH! Collinsworth, a senior, had 40 receptions for 599 yards and three touchdowns. Dyami Brown blew past Virginia Techs corners in 2020. Was Cris Collinsworth Any Good as an NFL Player? In 2009, he took over as the color commentator on Sunday nights when John Madden left the booth and is still in that role today. I was told that Mac Jones would be a late first-round pick early in the process. In 107 regular-season games in the NFL, 90 of them starts, Collinsworth had 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns. During the Muoz era of the '80s, Cincinnati had two MVP QBs and went to the Super Bowl twice. He also led the country in forced fumbles, with six. Even the scouting combine photo of Cris Collinsworth, which turned 40 this spring, seems to reflect the audacity of that second-round pick in. His accuracy, touch, poise, anticipation, ability to quickly read defenses and distribute the ball are all unmatched in the class. Darrisaw has an athletic kick step and a death grip when he gets his hands on rushers. Brown is my choice to surprise this year in the same way Justin Jefferson did in 2020. [24] He joined the NBC pregame show in 1996.[24]. The Eagles get lucky here. All rights reserved. Collinsworth played wide receiver on a competitive Cincinnati Bengals team that made the Super Bowl twice during his eight-year career. Collinsworth is also the color commentator on the popular video game, Madden NFL. [24] He worked on Fox's Super Bowl XXXIX telecast three years later. Short legs get running faster than long legs, so the taller receiver always has to make up ground in the last 30 yards. Chase can block and even played some tailback, but there is no arguing with the fact that he caught 24 deep balls against SEC competition at just 19 years of age and almost beat Clemson by himself in the 2019 National Championship Game. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. One of his runs helped us get into the Super Bowl.". "He reminds me of a shorter but faster Pat McInally," Pete Brown wrote. Award is part of $3 million in new grants to athletic fields nationwide, 2023 The Cincinnati Bengals. 1 overall. It might have come up (during the draft), but if it did, I don't remember. Collinsworth, who was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1959, has won five Emmy Awards. Count Collinsworth in the camp of those who believe he can have that same kind of impact at the next level, poor pre-draft workouts or not. We had a guy, Lionel Manuel, who ran in the 4.6's, but was tough to cover. WHY did they run 4.4? He is a hammer on the edge and can play in a 4-3 or 3-4. 10 and then chose Verser when he took one last look at Collinsworth in his shorts. Jerry Rice supposedly ran a 4.6 40 which put him in the "slow" category. He will fight and hold and jam the entire game. It's a rare sight to see a quarterback escape Ojulari in space. With the 10th pick, the Bengals took David Verser, a 6-1, 200-pound tornado out of Kansas widely regarded as the best wide receiver available. In 2001, he was inducted into the Verizon Academic All-America Hall of Fame. But Kim Wood never joked about his strength of heart and body. Cris not only had the speed and touch on the football field, he also had the brains. 3 years later he worked on the Super Bowl. However, as a student at the University of Florida he switched to wide receiver and made the College Football All-America Team as a senior. 2nd) if you are able to run precise routes& can make excellent breaks and cuts out your route, you will always be able to create separation since the DB is by nature of the game reacting to you. The Lions will take the win. "He's a very smart individual," the papers quoted Infante as he explained how he was attracted to Collinsworth by his height and productivity in Florida's pro-style offense. When he sees something, he fires fast and wants to blow plays up. 42.2K. Collinsworth's strength coach at Florida told Wood that the kid was muscular enough to have been named to an All-American strength team. His best routes are slants and digs. So was Collinsworth's future Bengals Super Bowl teammate James Brooks. He joined NBC for the first time in 1990, calling both NFL and college football games, before moving to Fox in the late 1990s after NBC lost their NFL broadcast rights to CBS. But football certainly wasnt the only sport in which Collinsworth excelled as he also played baseball, was a four-year letterman in basketball, and also won a state championship in track. Graduate of the University of Florida, chosen in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he had a eight-year NFL career that included three Pro Bowl appearances (1981-'83) and a pair of Super Bowls. Michigan Wolverine defensive end Aidan Hutchinson runs 40-yard dash at 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that from December on Verser was No. 39 the Vikings picked McDole, one of the receivers whom had been unfavorably compared to Collinsworth and whose career consisted of three catches. [29][30], On March 12, 2011, Collinsworth reportedly was among 83 people rescued from Jeff Ruby's Waterfront restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, when the floating restaurant tore loose from its moorings and began to drift on the Ohio River, only to be stopped by the Brent Spence Bridge that links Ohio to Kentucky. He was also recognized with his 3rd and 4th Sports Emmy Awards in 2003 and 2004 as Outstanding Sports Personality/Studio Analyst. In May 2006 he added a 5th Emmy Award in the same category for his work with HBO. His RPO footwork is special, he is a dangerous runner in space and he has a great feel for back-shoulder and high-and-away throws to protect the ball and receivers. 250+ three-page scouting profiles - advanced stats, 3-year grades, player comps, combine data and Senior Bowl grades - for the 2023 draft class. His mother left the room in tears, still recalling what the agent had said about the Bengals not being a fit. Lawrences running skills may allow him to put up Josh Allen-type red-zone numbers in 2021, and he also possesses excellent seam-throwing skills that I thought were underutilized at Clemson this year. Despite weighing only 177 pounds, he shows power when running over potential tacklers. "When I got the call, I didn't really trust it when I got it. By the time he was 8, Chris became a regular at the Gators' annual summer football camps. In 1998, Collinsworth joined the NFL on Fox team after NBC lost their broadcast rights to CBS. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark four times and ended his eight-year pro career with 417 catches for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns, adding an additional 21 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown in three postseason games. You can tell he is smart and has a plan on each and every snap. Collinsworth, who disclosed neatly on his Bengals information form that he was studying accounting, wore contacts and glasses while supplying the address and phone number of parents Donetta and Abe Collinsworth in Titusville, Fla., had been recruited by Infante when Infante was the offensive coordinator at Tulane. Three others finished with the exact same time but the 65 Collinsworth outleaned his competitors at the tape to take the title. The Life And Career Of David Klingler (Story), The Life And Career Of Carl Pickens (Story), The Life And Career Of Archie Griffin (Story), The Life And Career Of Anthony Muoz (Story), The Life And Career Of Jack "Throwin' Samoan" Thompson (Story), What Happened To Chris Henry? Mon-Fri : 9am to 5pm - 603-459-8358 After Hours : 603-921-6158 Only Mike Brown is alive from that day the Bengals stunned the world and took receivers with the first two picks. Oweh didn't even play football until his junior year of high school, which may explain his lack of pass-rushing skills. One of the things I really like about Waddle is that he tends to hold his speed and create comfort for the defensive back before hitting the jets, and then it is all over.

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