When most true freshmen arrive on Virginia's football team, they typically expect to spend a year on the bench learning the ropes of the college game. Nate Collins is the exception. The nose tackle has performed ably in backup duty this year, playing in all eight of the Cavaliers' games so far. He has notched six solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. But Collins did not expect to be such a significant part of the defense so early in his career.
"I was real surprised," Collins said. "When I came here, I really didn't know what to expect. I thought that they were going to redshirt me, and I had no problem with that."
Collins is originally from Port Chester, N.Y., where he recorded 11 sacks and rushed for 850 yards and 10 touchdowns at King and Low-Heywood Thomas High School. He was also named a Boston Globe All-League player as a senior. Given his experience playing nearly every position on the field in high school, Collins arrived at Virginia with an open mind.
"I came here ready to learn, because before this year, I really didn't know a lot about football," Collins said. "I mean, I played football, and I watched football, but the things that we're doing here, I never learned in high school. We didn't play a 3-4 in high school, and there are all sorts of different terms and such."
Collins's playing time in no way diminishes the efforts of the rest of the team's freshmen. Even though most fans do not get to see them on the field for a year or two, the players work just as hard as the rest of the team in practice, honing their skills for an opportunity to shine on the Scott Stadium turf someday.
"We don't take away time from game preparation to work with the true freshmen in practice, but they do all the drills and work hard," coach Al Groh said. "We try to coach them just as if they're going to play on Saturday. We don't want their development to be in abeyance for a year. The pressure is on them to improve everyday like everyone else. If they want to make a run for playing time at their position come spring practice, this is the time where they develop their game to do so."
This year's freshman class is strong, featuring, among others: Superprep and PrepStar All-American tight end/defensive end Joe Torchia, tailback Keith Payne, who was ranked as the eighth-best player in Virginia by SuperPrep and The Roanoke Times, and Mike Parker, who was ranked as the No. 46 safety in the country by rivals. com.
"I wouldn't want to single any of them out, but I think just about every one of them is a player that I anticipate will challenge for playing time during spring practice," Groh said.
Spending a year on the bench can be very beneficial to a player's development, as starting quarterback Jameel Sewell can attest. Sewell, a redshirt freshman, struggled early on after being named the starter but has come into his own in recent games against Maryland and North Carolina, passing for a season-high 243 yards against the Terps. He has proved to be a dual threat as well, rushing for a touchdown in both games.
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