CARENCRO---Carencro senior right guard Quinn Collins will play a vital role in the golden Bears' quest for a repeat state championship this season.. by both his play on the field as well as his leadership skills.
"Our O-Line.. we just love to dominate. That’s the only thing we love to do. We just dominate the person in front of us, so we can get the win, we get to the finals and get that ring again," says Collins.
Carencro runs the veer offensive scheme.. and it’s success is reliant on a solid offensive line. A vital piece to the Bear’s line is senior right guard Quinn Collins.
"He is definitely the alpha of that offensive line. Like this summer, he’s in charge of the offensive line. They report to him at 6 o’clock in the morning. They text him that they will be there and then he reports to us," explains head coach Tony Courville.
Critics would say he is undersized, listed at 5-10, 220 pounds. But a lot of the time, the underdog bites the hardest.
And a year ago, he was named first team all-state, All Acadiana, and 1st team all-district in helping lead Carencro to their first state championship since 1992.
This year, the three year starter will look to continue to bring leadership to the team as he embraces the role of being the “coach on the field.”
"I feel like when I am a leader--An honest, responsible leader-- that holds myself and everybody else accountable. I feel a lot better about myself. I feel better about my team because I know I can trust them. Because if they can trust me, then I know they will do the right thing and listen to me and do what they are suppose to. Then everything will go right.. just the way we want it to go," states Collins.
"I get to walk around through practice every once and a while and I’m watching him.. he does his reps, gets back in line and then he’s also coaching somebody up.. try to teach them and make them better," further explains Courville.
Collins is also a wrestler. He says skills and techniques learned in the ring often times correlates to his role on the football field.
"In wrestling, it’s always 1-on 1. You’re not going to be with somebody else helping you, tagging you out or something like that. Or telling you “okay break time break time!” So I just feel like it teaches you how to dominate 1-on-1 and how to trust yourself and just go all out when you know no one is behind you and all you can do is help yourself," explains Collins
And there is going to be a new, but very familiar face starting right next to him at the center position this season. Yep,.. his younger brother, Ledgerrick.
"I feel like it’s pretty special. It really makes me want to help my team grow especially because my brother is playing right next to me and I know I can trust him. I know I can depend on him to do whatever we need him to do," says Collins.