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Penn State Football: Former Nittany Lion QB Kerry Collins named to College Football Hall of Fame

By Barry Leonard Jr.

19 NOV 1994: PENN STATE QUARTERBACK KERRY COLLINS ROLLS OUT OF THE POCKET WHILE LOOKING FOR AN OPEN RECEIVER DURING THE NITTANY LIONS 45-17 VICTORY OVER THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS AT BEAVER STADIUM IN UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA. Mandatory Credit: Rick
19 NOV 1994: PENN STATE QUARTERBACK KERRY COLLINS ROLLS OUT OF THE POCKET WHILE LOOKING FOR AN OPEN RECEIVER DURING THE NITTANY LIONS 45-17 VICTORY OVER THE NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS AT BEAVER STADIUM IN UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA. Mandatory Credit: Rick /
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Former Penn State football standout Kerry Collins has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

The 2018 College Football Hall of fame class includes a a Penn State legend. Quarterback Kerry Collins was announced as a member of the most recent class of college football greats. Collins led Penn State to the 1994 Big Ten Conference, just the school’s second season in the conference.

Collins was a highly decorated player at Penn State and earned several national awards during his collegiate career. Most notably, he was a consensus first-team All-American in 1994. He was also awarded the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football and the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback.

He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

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Collins took over as Penn State’s full-time starter during the 1993 season. He played in the final nine games and won the last five of that season en route to a No. 8 final ranking. He parlayed that success into a 12-0 season in 1994. The Nittany Lions finished the year with a controversial No. 2 ranking and was actually listed as the No. 1 team by the New York Times and the Sagarin computer rankings.

Overall, the Nittany Lions went 40-9 with Collins on the roster from 1991-94 and won the Fiesta Bowl, Citrus Bowl, and Rose Bowl.

Easily considered one of Penn State’s all-time best players, Collins threw for 5,304 yards with 39 touchdowns and 21 interceptions as a Nittany Lion.

After leaving Penn State Collins was the No. 5 pick of the Carolina Panthers in the 1995 NFL Draft and went on to enjoy a successful 17-year NFL career with six different teams. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and quarterbacked the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

Collins is the 25th Nittany Lion to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame (19 players and six coaches). Linebacker Shane Conlan, inducted in 2014, was the most recent Penn State player to be  a part of the Hall of Fame.

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