Austin Kirk Collie (born November 11, 1985) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional gridiron football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) in the fourth round (127th overall) in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. He played college football for the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

. Collie also played in the NFL for the New England Patriots and in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

Early life

Collie was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, to American parents Scott and Nicole Collie. Scott Collie played football at

(BYU) from 1979 to 1982 and played professionally in the

(CFL) for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and briefly in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1983 pre-season. Collie starred as a wide receiver at Oak Ridge High School and garnered many awards. He was a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American as well as being voted Northern California's Most Valuable Player. During his senior season, he recorded 60 receptions for a total of 978 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2004, Collie became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

. In December 2009, Collie's hometown newspaper, '' The Sacramento Bee'', named him Sacramento Area's Player of the Decade (2000–2009).

College career

In 2004, Collie was named MWC Freshman of the Year. He was also named the MVP of the

2007 Las Vegas Bowl The 2007 Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl was an NCAA-sanctioned Division I post-season college football bowl game between the UCLA Bruins and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The game was played on December 22, 2007, starting at 5 p.m. ...

and named to the All-MWC first-team in 2008. Collie set a series of records during his three-year career at BYU (2004, 2007–2008). Additionally, Collie was also one of the highest rated wide receivers in college football during his junior season in which he was selected to the college football All–American team. On January 9, 2009, Collie announced in a press conference that he would forgo his senior year and enter the

. The Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the fourth round, 127th overall.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Collie impressed Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell in the preseason and was placed third on the depth chart at the wide receiver position for the 2009 season, placing ahead of

Pierre Garçon Pierre Andre Garçon (; born August 8, 1986) is a former American Football wide receiver. He played college football at Norwich University and Mount Union College, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

for the slot receiver position. However, Garçon soon jumped Collie on the depth chart shortly thereafter. Collie finished his rookie season in the NFL among the top statistical leaders for all rookies at the wide receiver position. Collie started his second year strong, making numerous touchdown catches and establishing himself as Peyton Manning's "go-to guy" after

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is a former American football tight end who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was reco ...

suffered a season-ending injury. However, on November 7, 2010, Collie was involved in a collision against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, in which he was hit on both sides of his head by

Quintin Mikell Quintin Perry Mikell (born September 16, 1980) is a former American football safety who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Boise State University, he was signed by the Philadelphia ...

and Kurt Coleman. Collie was taken off the field on a stretcher. According to a televised

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

update, Collie was seen sitting up and moving after several minutes working with medics. Collie suffered a concussion as a result of the collision. Coleman was penalized for unnecessary roughness for the hit on Collie, but neither player was fined, as the NFL later ruled that the contact that caused the injury was incidental as a result of Mikell's initial hit. On December 19, 2010, Collie was hit in the head by Jaguars linebacker Daryl Smith and was down for several minutes. It was his second concussion-related injury that year and ultimately ended his 2010 season. Despite the fact that no fines were assessed, the highly visible injuries to Collie have added to the debate about violent hits in football. On December 22, 2010, Collie was placed on injured reserve. Collie played in all 16 games, making 5 starts, during the 2011 regular season, but managed to only catch one touchdown pass among his 54 receptions. During a 2012 preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Collie suffered his third concussion of his career. During the third game of the 2012 season against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

, Collie suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, causing him to miss the rest of the 2012 season. On February 15, 2013, Collie was told he would not be re-signed by the Colts.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 2, 2013, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

signed Collie to a 1-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2013, during final roster cuts.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots signed Collie as a free agent on October 3, 2013. He was signed for a one-year, veteran-minimum contract, which is $715,000 but prorated to $546,765. Due to Collie's previous injuries, the contract included an injury waiver, meaning the Patriots could release him if he was injured and only owe him a "split" (50%) of the contract. He was released November 5, 2013 because of a knee injury, after only 3 catches for 34 yards. He was re-signed by the Patriots on December 5, 2013 to add depth with rookie wideouts

Aaron Dobson Aaron Jameer Dobson (born July 23, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played college football at Marshall. Early years Dobson was born in ...

and Kenbrell Thompkins dealing with nagging injuries. He was released once more on December 27, 2013, only to be re-signed on January 2, 2014. The Patriots released Collie again after the playoffs.

BC Lions

On January 29, 2015, the

of the

announced they had signed Collie to a contract. In his only CFL season, Collie played in 16 games, catching 43 passes for 439 yards with 7 touchdowns. Collie also recorded a touchdown as a passer, throwing a 21-yard score to quarterback Jonathon Jennings on a trick play. On April 8, 2016, Collie announced his retirement from professional football.

Career NFL statistics

Personal life

After retiring from professional football Collie joined Cognitive FX, a concussion treatment center.

References

External links

BC Lions bio

NFL bio

New England Patriots bio

Indianapolis Colts bio

BYU bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collie, Austin 1985 births Living people People from El Dorado Hills, California Latter Day Saints from California Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario American football wide receivers BYU Cougars football players Indianapolis Colts players San Francisco 49ers players New England Patriots players American players of Canadian football Canadian football wide receivers BC Lions players American Mormon missionaries in Argentina Canadian players of American football