Kerry Collins

Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons.

Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, and the Tennessee Titans.

He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, winning the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, and the Sammy Baugh Trophy as a senior.

He attended Lebanon High School, until 1987, and then transferred to Wilson High School in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, where he played football, basketball, and baseball.

Collins attended Pennsylvania State University, where he played for coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 1991 to 1994.

As a senior quarterback in 1994, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having received first-team honors from the Associated Press, United Press International, The Football News, the Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News.

Collins also captured two of college football's major postseason prizes – the Maxwell Award, presented to the nation's outstanding player, and the Davey O'Brien Award, which goes to the nation's top quarterback.

Collins finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting that year.

He was chosen UPI Back-of-the-Year and garnered Player-of-the-Year honors from ABC-TV/Chevrolet and the Big Ten Conference.

Collins made a serious run at the NCAA season passing efficiency record, falling just four points short (172.8), the fourth-highest figure in NCAA annals.

He broke Penn State season records for total offense (2,660), completions (176), passing yardage (2,679), completion percentage (66.7), yards per attempt (10.15) and passing efficiency (172.86).

He had 14 consecutive completions at Minnesota, another Penn State record.

Collins was the linchpin of an explosive offense (including Ki-Jana Carter, Kyle Brady, and Bobby Engram) that shattered 14 school records and led the nation in scoring (47.8 ppg.) and total offense (520.2 ypg.).

With 5,304 career passing yards, Collins ranks third in Penn State annals and is one of only three quarterbacks to top 5,000 yards through the air.

With Collins at quarterback, the 1994 Nittany Lions completed an undefeated season, the fifth under coach Joe Paterno, capped by a Rose Bowl win over Pac-10 Champion Oregon.

His team was voted #1 by the New York Times, although they were voted #2 behind undefeated Nebraska in the traditional polls (AP Poll and Coaches' Poll) used to determine Division I-A champions prior to the BCS era.

Selected by the Panthers fifth overall in the 1995 NFL Draft, Collins was the franchise's first draft selection.

In his second season, he helped the Panthers become the youngest NFL expansion team to clinch their division and appear in a conference championship, also earning him Pro Bowl honors.

Collins was selected as the Carolina Panthers' first round pick (fifth overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft.

He was the first player ever chosen by the Panthers in the annual college draft, though other players—some free agents, as well as players from the expansion draft—had previously signed with the team.

In his three seasons with the Panthers, he threw for 7,295 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 49 interceptions.

His completion percentage was 52.6% and his quarterback rating was 65.6.

In his second season, he led the Panthers to the NFC Championship, a 30–13 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Collins threw 21 interceptions during the 1997 season and the Panthers finished 7–9, just one season after advancing to the NFC Championship.

Carolina started the 1998 season with Collins as its starting quarterback.

After an 0–4 start, Collins walked into head coach Dom Capers' office and, as Collins later put it, "told Coach Capers my heart's not in it, I'm not happy, and I don't feel like I can play right now."

He asked to be traded, but was instead placed on waivers by Carolina during the 1998 season and subsequently signed with the New Orleans Saints to finish the season.

Collins would later say that he did not intend to quit the Panthers, only to sit out for a few weeks.

However, Capers interpreted his request as quitting on the team and he was released.

He later admitted that much of his erratic behavior was due to his struggles with alcoholism.

Collins served as the Giants starting quarterback from 1999 to 2003, leading them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXV.

Following a period of limited success, Collins earned a second Pro Bowl selection after helping the Titans obtain a league-best 13–3 record in 2008.

He saw less playing time in his final three years and retired after the 2011 season.

Collins was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Collins was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

In 2018, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Collins presently ranks 20th all-time in NFL career passing yardage and 19th all-time in NFL career passing completions.

His TD:INT ratio and completion percentage were less impressive, however, resulting in passer ratings of 73.8 and 75.3 for the regular season and postseason.

He was also less successful in wins and losses, finishing with a .450 regular season winning percentage and a .429 playoff winning percentage.

Despite this, he defeated every NFL team except the Miami Dolphins.