Jamie Lee Collins Sr. (born October 20, 1989) is an American football coach and former professional linebacker who is the inside linebackers coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. Collins played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, receiving first-team All-C-USA honors in 2012, and was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. As a member of the Patriots for seven non-consecutive seasons, Collins earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2015 when he led the league in forced fumbles and also won Super Bowl XLIX. Outside of his New England tenure, he played three seasons with the Cleveland Browns and two with the Detroit Lions.
Collins was born in McCall Creek, Mississippi. He attended Franklin County High School in Meadville, Mississippi, where he played high school football for the Franklin County Bulldogs. He first played as a quarterback, receiver and safety before concluding his career as a quarterback and outside linebacker. He led the team to the Class 3A State Championship during his first year at quarterback, accounting for over 2,000 yards of offense and 26 touchdowns for the 2006 season. As a senior in 2007, he had over 1,200 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing while leading his team to the state championship game. He was selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game, where he recorded a solo tackle.
Also, a standout track and field athlete, Collins was a state track qualifier. At the 2009 3A South State Meet, he earned first-place finishes in the shot put (51–6) and discus throw (156–0 or 47.80m), while also placing second in both the high jump (6–4 or 1.93m) and triple jump (43–10.5) events. He captured the 2009 MHSAA (Mississippi High School Athletics Association) 3A shot put title with a throw of 15.90 meters (52–1), and also took third in the triple jump after recording a career-best leap of 13.58m (44–5.25).
A three-star athlete by Rivals.com, Collins was ranked No. 68 at that position in the country and No. 21 overall in the state of Mississippi. He was a three-star prospect by Scout.com. He was named 1st team All-State by The Clarion-Ledger. He was Max Lemming's of MaxPreps.com's No. 12 combo passer in the country.
Collins enrolled in the University of Southern Mississippi and played for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team from 2009 to 2012. He played defensive back, defensive end and linebacker. During his college career, he compiled 314 tackles, 21 quarterback sacks, three interceptions and three touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Conference USA selection following his senior season in 2012.
Collins entered the 2013 NFL Draft and attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine and positional drills and immensely helped his draft stock with his overall performance. Collins set an NFL Combine record by finishing with a broad jump of 11'7". The record was previously 11'5" which was set by running back Justin Fargas in the 2003 NFL combine. Collins held the record until it was broken by cornerback Byron Jones in 2015 (12'3") and was also surpassed by Obi Melifonwu in 2017 (11'9"). He also finished with the second best vertical jump at the combine, fourth best short shuttle among edge rushers, and eighth best 40-yard dash time among pass rushers at the combine.
On March 8, 2013, Collins participated at Southern Mississippi's pro day but opted to stand on his combine performance and only performed positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a second-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. Collins was ranked as the third best outside linebacker by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, the fifth best outside linebacker by NFL analyst Josh Norris, and was ranked the sixth best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.
New England Patriots (first stint)
The New England Patriots selected Collins in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. Collins was the seventh linebacker drafted in 2013.
On May 17, 2013, the Patriots signed Collins to a four-year, $3.75 million contract that includes $1.86 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.11 million.
Collins entered training camp as a backup outside linebacker. Head coach Bill Belichick named Collins a backup outside linebacker to start the regular season, behind starters Dont'a Hightower and Jerod Mayo.
He made his professional regular season debut in the New England Patriots' season-opening 23–21 victory at the Buffalo Bills. On September 22, 2013, Collins made two combined tackles during a 23–3 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3. Collins made his first career tackle on running back Doug Martin to stop a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. On October 20, 2013, Collins earned his first career start after Jerod Mayo sustained a tear to his pectoral muscle the previous week. Collins recorded five combined tackles in his first start as the Patriots lost 30–27 to the New York Jets in Week 7. In Week 12, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) during a 34–31 win against the Denver Broncos. Collins finished his rookie season in 2013 with 43 combined tackles (24 solo) and four pass deflections in 16 games and eight starts.
The New England Patriots finished first in the AFC East with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye. On January 11, 2014, Collins started in his first career playoff game and recorded six combined tackles, a pass deflection, made his first career sack, and recorded his first career interception as the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Round. The following week, he made seven combined tackles and deflected a pass in a 26–16 loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
Collins entered training camp slated as the starting weakside linebacker after Jerod Mayo was moved to middle linebacker, following his return from injury, to replace Brandon Spikes. Head coach Bill Belichick named Collins and Dont'a Hightower the starting outside linebackers to begin the regular season.
Collins started in the New England Patriots' season-opener at the Miami Dolphins and recorded a season-high eight solo tackles and deflected a pass in their 33–20 loss. He was inactive for the Patriots' Week 2 victory at the Minnesota Vikings after sustaining a thigh injury. On October 12, 2014, Collins made four combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career regular season interception during a 37–22 victory at the Buffalo Bills. Collins intercepted a pass by quarterback Kyle Orton, that was initially intended for wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, in the second quarter. The following week, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (seven solo) in the Patriots' 27–25 win against the New York Jets in Week 7. On November 30, 2014, Collins tied his season-high of 13 combined tackles (seven solo), recorded his first career regular season sack, and forced a fumble during a 26–21 loss at the Green Bay Packers. Collins recorded a strip/sack for a six-yard loss on quarterback Aaron Rodgers during the fourth quarter. The following game, Collins made nine combined tackles and had two sacks on quarterback Philip Rivers as the Patriots earned a 23–14 victory at the San Diego Chargers in Week 14. He finished the 2014 season with a career-high 116 combined tackles (74 solo), four sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts. Collins earned an overall grade of 87.9 from Pro Football Focus in 2014 and received the 11th highest grade of all the linebackers who qualified in 2014.
The New England Patriots finished atop the AFC East with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. On January 10, 2015, Collins made 11 combined tackles (eight solo) and deflected two passes during a 35–31 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round. The following week, he made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception as the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45–7 in the AFC Championship Game. On February 1, 2015, Collins recorded eight combined tackles as the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 in Super Bowl XLIX.