Alex Collins: Top Football Recruit’s Mother Goes To His School, Steals Letter Of Intent
Alex Collins was a top high school football recruit all set to commit to Arkansas. Then mom stepped in.
Collins, the Rivals.com four-star running back from Plantation, Florida, made his commitment to Arkansas on a Fox Sports broadcast this week. But, when Arkansas sent him a letter of intent to sign, Collins’ mother went to his school and stole it.
His mother wanted to keep him close to home and wasn’t happy with the idea of him committing to Arkansas, Yahoo! Sports noted. Collins reportedly didn’t change his mind even after his mother voiced her displeasure, but now it’s not so certain.
ESPNU tracked down Arkansas coach Bret Bielema, who said he wouldn’t discuss Collins, saying he hadn’t received his letter of intent. Later, ESPNU reported that Alex Collins’ mother stole the papers before her son could fax them to Arkansas and then disappeared.
“His mother has confiscated the papers, she took them and she ran,” Long said on ESPNU. “They’re looking for her currently. From what I understand Alex is not at the school right now, he’s looking for his mom. She was quite torn up about him leaving so far from home.”
There appear to be conflicting reports as to whether Alex Collins’ mother actually stole his letter of intent or if the high school star just got cold feet. HawgSports.com, citing South Florida High School Sports’ Twitter account, said Collins was holding off because the family wanted more time for due diligence.
If it’s true, the story is unlike anything seen before on National Signing Day.
“I don’t know if I’ve heard of anyone running away with the papers,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson told Yahoo! Sports. “But certainly there are some funny stories with recruiting and it’s getting nuttier and nuttier as we go each year.”
The report that Alex Collins’ mother stole his letter of intent has also led to make jokes from sports writers, like Greg Couch of FoxSports.com, who wrote: “If he can’t run her down, he should be in Big 10 anyway”
