SKULL SESSION: URBAN MEYER TROLLS MICHIGAN IN THE SUBTLEST OF WAYS, STEPHEN COLLIER REFLECTS ON HIS BACKUP QUARTERBACK CAREER, AND SHAUN WADE COULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN A FIRST-ROUND PICK
TALES FROM THE END OF THE BENCH. Ohio State fans have an uncanny affinity for players who barely play, and it absolutely rules.
Buckeye fans basically knighted Mark Titus for sitting on the bench and blogging about it, Joey Lane was arguably the most beloved player on the roster last year, and Kenny Guiton got the loudest ovation on his senior day despite only ever entering a game in meaningful moments when Braxton Miller broke himself.
Stephen Collier felt that love too during his career, but that didn't mean it was always easy being a career backup.
Stephen Collier left small-town Georgia for Ohio State thinking he’d push for playing time by Year 2 once Braxton Miller was gone.
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“I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” Collier said. “I don’t think a lot of people do."
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“While it’s nice to have those perks and that notoriety and that attention from colleagues, peers, women, things like that, it kind of eats at you a little bit, too,” Collier said. “Like, ‘This sucks. I want to be playing,’ because then you see the attention and all those things get magnified when you’re a starter. It’s a double-edged sword, for sure.”
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In spring ball, the No. 2 will get pretty equal reps with the starter, but by the time fall comes around, it’s more like 25 percent. Third-string reps are essentially nonexistent. For most, it’s a lot of work with the scout team offense against the defense. If you’re low enough in the pecking order, you might be throwing balls up for the defense in drills. Maybe you’ll get one or two reps a practice.
“That always kind of sucks, too,” Collier said, “because where a starter gets 100 reps in a game and when he messes up one or two it’s not that big a deal, we’re only going to get two reps at practice, and those two reps are the biggest reps of your life.”
I've long maintained that there is not a better job in the world than a backup NFL quarterback, but I can't say the same about college, even if it does come with a scholarship. Collier put up with a lot of bullshit to never actually see the field when he could have transferred at any time, but he stayed and I respect that.
It's not like he didn't have a purpose – the guy portrayed Marcus Mariotta for the scout team and learned Oregon's cutting-edge offense in a few days to make sure they were running plays every 16 seconds in practice. He earned his ring in 2014, he just did it in a different way, and never got the recognition.
Entire article:
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/skul...f-ways-stephen-collier-reflects-on-his-backup