Collins is forced to quit Clemson

Collins, a receiver at Clemson, will miss the 2005 season and take a medical redshirt to heal back and hip problems that have plagued him during the past two seasons.

Collins, who transferred to Clemson in 2002 after spending a freshman season at Tennessee, will exhaust his eligibility because he redshirted in 2002 while sitting out the season per NCAA transfer rules. He said he will remain in school and on scholarship, and will assist receivers coach Dabo Swinney while working as a student assistant coach in 2005.

Collins said he suffers from scoliosis, which has caused significant pain in his back and hips, which became much more difficult to deal with during the past two seasons.

"I have always had it. The pain was bearable to begin with. It has just been more and more of a problem than it had been," said Collins, who made eight catches for 86 yards last season. "I just looked toward the future, and just decided with all the options, I thought this would be best for my health and my future."

Collins said that he made his decision to sit out the year after a meeting with new offensive coordinator Rob Spence and Swinney.

The decision brings to conclusion a disappointing career for Collins, a much-heralded recruit when he came out of Commerce High School in 2001. He chose Tennessee over Clemson and Georgia in a hotly contested recruiting battle that left Tigers assistant coach Ron West almost inconsolable when he learned that Collins would be a Vol.

He didn't play at Tennessee, and struggled to get his chance at Clemson against quicker, more versatile receivers. The 6-foot-4 Collins started one game, the Tigers' homecoming win over Utah State Oct. 16 last season, but his best performance came in the 2004 spring game, when he made two touchdown catches.

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Collins said he has thought about what might have been had he tried basketball, and said that if Larry Shyatt was still coaching at Clemson he might have pursued it. But he said he wouldn't go back and change the choices he made if he could.

"No regrets," Collins said. "Everything I have been through has been for a purpose, and I look at this the same way."