Football | This Cougar always ready for anything

It's easier to describe what Jed Collins has done at Washington State than to describe Jed Collins himself.

Collins is the free-spirited senior tight end who also has played linebacker, short-yardage running back and thrown his body around on almost every special team.

This week, the Cougars even have him deep-snapping as Tony Thompson is sidelined, at least temporarily, with a knee injury.

If WSU ranked players on versatility, Collins probably would be No. 1.

"I'm a football player," the 6-foot-2, 251-pounder said. "I don't have great physical attributes. I'm a little short, a little chubby, a little slow, but I can play football. I can play the game. I know how to do that."

Collins said he thinks he could play every position but cornerback, where swivel hips and speed are required.

"I'm trying to talk them into letting me throw the ball, but they're not buying into it," he joked.

Last year, Collins caught 22 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns. He carried the ball five times and scored twice.

In a sport that doesn't always encourage eccentricity, Collins is one of the team's characters. He is a careless dresser and has worn his hair in a variety of styles, including shaved.

His position coach, Greg Peterson, walked into the team banquet last spring and didn't recognize Collins at first because he wasn't looking for a nearly bald guy. Collins, always full of surprises, was wearing a buzz cut.

The senior from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., never redshirted. He always has been among the team leaders in football smarts and in the classroom with a 3.4 grade-point average in accounting. That doesn't prevent him from getting needled mercilessly for his lack of fashion sense.

"It's kind of well-known that I don't have very good style," he admitted. "There are a couple of pretty boys on our team that outdress a lot of the girls I'm interested in. I grab the first shirt and shorts and a hat."

And when Collins wants to dress up, what does he reach for? "A nicer T-shirt."

Quarterback Alex Brink said he likes Collins as a target even though he has to listen to him say how open he was on plays when he didn't get the ball.

"He loves to bug you," Brink said.

Collins is usually funny, talkative and loose until games or when the intensity level at practice reaches a certain level. His pregame ritual consists of a Snickers bar and a prayer.

He lives with football players but has friends outside football and describes his approach to college as "diversified." He has gone through various "phases" as he calls them, including punk rock.

"I love the team and my teammates, but it's more of an experience to get out and do other things and enjoy every aspect of it," he said.

"I'm definitely a student first and an athlete second."

Collins didn't begin playing football until he was a freshman in high school because his mother was afraid he would get injured.

"I remember not knowing what a hip or thigh pad was and getting made fun of. I volunteered for offensive tackle just because I didn't know anything and it was all new."

He didn't last long at tackle because the team had a pass-catching contest and he won it.

Collins' father, Michael, a lawyer, and a brother, Jake, both played basketball at Seattle University. Another brother, Lenny, played basketball at Cornell and now is at Harvard Law School. The boys have a special-needs sister, Emily, described by Collins as "the glue that keeps us all together."

As the youngest child, Collins said he was "always striving for attention. ... I was always very social and trying to make everybody happy and keep a smile on people's faces."

He still is doing it.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com