Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns' Alfred Collins Graded As College Football's Top DT

Playing his best football at the right time, national media is starting to pay attention to Alfred Collins

Lindsey Plotkin

Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) in the first quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Alfred Collins (95) in the first quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-Imagn Images / Brett Patzke-Imagn Images
In this story:

Texas Longhorns senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins has been having an impressive season. In the past, head coach Steve Sarkisian has emphasized Collins' need for consistency, and this season he has done just that.

PFF College has taken notice, and named Collins as its highest-graded defensive tackle this season, with a grade of 90.1.

Collins has 35 total tackles this season, one sack and one forced fumble. Two of those came during Texas' win over Arkansas, as Collins sacked Razorback quarterback Taylen Green for a loss of 12 yards and forced a fumble in the fourth quarter.

The fumble gave the Texas offense the ball back, allowing it to run out the clock and seal the 20-10 victory.

Collins may have been overlooked for most of his career, but he waited his turn and is now one of the star defensive linemen for the Texas Longhorns. He's following in the footsteps of T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, who were both drafted in the second round or higher of the 2024 NFL Draft.

His patience paid off, as he is having his best season yet as a Longhorn. A senior in the Texas program, he's seen it at its lowest of lows when the Longhorns missed out on a bowl game in 2021 and been apart of Texas' first-ever College Football Playoff team in 2023.

"I remember doing press conferences, you know, three, four years ago, talking about Alfred," Sarkisian said. "What's the issue with Alfred? Well, consistency. All of a sudden, now we have a really consistent player who's very talented, and he's making a lot of plays for us.":

Once he began to play more consistently, the tackles came. He has worked with defensive line coach Kenny Baker to perfect his form, something that has helped his performance this season.

Now, Collins will take the field for potentially the final time at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium as Texas will face Kentucky on Saturday for the final regular-season home game of 2024. Collins will be honored with the rest of the seniors and the game will kick off at 2:30 PM on ABC.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Texas Longhorns vs. Kentucky Wildcats: What the Stats Say

MORE: Texas Longhorns vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Betting Odds and How to Watch

MORE: Texas Longhorns Release First Injury Report vs. Kentucky Wildcats

MORE: Kentucky Wildcats Coach Praises Texas Longhorns: 'No Weaknesses'

MORE: Texas Longhorns Open as Big Favorites vs. Kentucky Wildcats

Published
Lindsey Plotkin
LINDSEY PLOTKIN

Lindsey Plotkin is a journalism major and sports media minor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a double coverage editor for the Daily Texan on the football and baseball beats, and a staff writer for Texas Longhorns On SI.

Home/Football