Hurricanes miss on five-star running back, as Alex Collins commits to Arkansas

Alex Collins ran for 1,275 yards and 14 touchdowns for South Plantation in 2012. [Carline Jean, Sun Sentinel]

By Dieter Kurtenbach, Sun Sentinel South Florida Sun-Sentinel

9:43 p.m. EST, February 4, 2013

Alex Collins is ready to call the hogs.

South Plantation's five-star running back committed to the University of Arkansas Monday night in an announcement on Fox Sports South. 

Collins chose the Razorbacks over Miami, Florida State, Florida and Wisconsin.

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The Razorbacks were late comers to the Collins recruitment party — it was only after Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema jumped to Arkansas that Collins began to consider the Hogs. 

Bielema kept with him his defensive coordinator and top South Florida recruiter, Charlie Partridge, when he made the move, keeping Collins' relationship intact, while adding the allure of SEC football.

Bielema was deeply involved in Collins' recruitment, going as far as tweeting out a picture of himself next to a projected image of the Buddha, a blatant homage to Collins, whose friends call him Budda. 

"I like the fact that they run the ball," Collins said of his commitment. "I personally know the coaches, I have been recruited by them for two years now... I trust them."

 

Collins had been a Miami commit for nearly a year before he opened up his commitment in November. At that time, it was believed that Florida State was the main suitor for his signature on National Signing Day, but shakeups to the FSU coaching staff left the Seminoles out of favor.

Florida made a late and fruitless push for Collins.

That left two, Miami and Arkansas. He officially visited both schools on back-to-back weekends last month. Between those visits, Collins attended Miami's basketball blowout of Duke, a game where a sold-out stadium chanted his name. 

Miami coach Al Golden visited Collins last Friday, but Arkansas' impression from the weekend before proved to be the turning point in the commitment. 

Bielema, who did not know of the commitment before the announcement — no one knew Collins' choice but Collins himself — tweeted this after the running back committed:

Meanwhile, Collins' main recruiter, defensive assistant Charlie Partridge, a native of Plantation, tweeted this: