Lawrence Edward "L. J." Collier Jr. (born September 12, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at TCU, and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
 Collier in 2020 | |||||||||||
| No. 91 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | September 12, 1995 Munday, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 291 lb (132 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Munday (TX) | ||||||||||
| College: | TCU (2014–2018) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2019 / round: 1 / pick: 29 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024 | |||||||||||
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Early life
editCollier grew up in his father's hometown of Munday, Texas. He attended Munday High School, where he helped lead the Moguls to a state championship as a junior in 2012.[1] He recorded six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a touchdown on an interception return to earn Defensive MVP honors for the game.[2]
On February 5, 2014, he signed a letter of intent to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas on a football scholarship.[3]
College career
editCollier redshirted during his first season at TCU, but became a starter for the Horned Frogs as a redshirt freshman in 2015 despite appearing in just one game. He played in all 13 games for the Horned Frogs as sophomore, recording 4.5 sacks and blocking a field goal against Georgia in the 2016 Liberty Bowl.[4] He recorded 4.5 sacks again as a junior, including one in a crucial late-game situation in the Frogs' comeback win over Stanford in the 2017 Alamo Bowl.[5]
As a senior in 2018, Collier finally got the opportunity to become a starter for the Horned Frogs. He responded by tallying 6.0 sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss and 4 pass break-ups to earn First-team All-Big 12 Conference honors[6] and closed out his collegiate career with a sack in TCU's Cheez-It Bowl victory over California.[7]
Following his senior season, Collier graduated from TCU and was invited to participate in the 2019 Senior Bowl,[8] in which he recorded a sack and a forced fumble.[9]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2+1⁄4 in (1.89 m) |
283 lb (128 kg) |
34 in (0.86 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.91 s | 1.68 s | 2.87 s | 4.78 s | 7.71 s | 30 in (0.76 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
25 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Seattle Seahawks
edit
Collier was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round (29th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[12] The Seahawks traded Frank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs in order to obtain the selection used to select Collier.[13] After suffering multiple injuries, he finished the season with 3 tackles.
Collier started the 2020 campaign as the starting defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks after the departure of Jadeveon Clowney. He had the biggest play of his early career when he stopped New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton on the 1-yard line to secure a Week 2 35–30 victory on Sunday Night Football. In Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football, Collier recorded his first career sack on Kirk Cousins during the 27–26 win.[14] In Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football, Collier recorded his second career sack, taking down Kyler Murray during a 28-21 win.[15]
The Seahawks declined the fifth-year option on Collier's rookie contract making him a free agent after the 2022 season.[16] Collier was placed on injured reserve to start the 2022 season.[17] He was activated on October 26, 2022.[18]
Arizona Cardinals
editOn March 21, 2023, Collier signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.[19] He was placed on injured reserve on September 16, 2023.[20]
On March 8, 2024, Collier signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardinals.[21]
References
edit- ^ "Munday High School Wins Football State Championship". Texoma's Home Page. December 20, 2012. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ "Munday's Collier dominates defensively". ETSN.com. December 20, 2012.
- ^ "L.J. Collier". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ "TCU Falls to Georgia in Liberty Bowl". GoFrogs.com. December 30, 2016.
- ^ "TCU Comes Back to Win Valero Alamo Bowl". GoFrogs.com. December 29, 2017.
- ^ "2018 All-Big 12 Football Honors Announced". November 28, 2018.
- ^ "Frogs Overtime Winners in Cheez-It Bowl". GoFrogs.com. December 27, 2018.
- ^ "Banogu and Collier Headed to Reese's Senior Bowl". GoFrogs.com. January 9, 2019.
- ^ "6 Prospects Who Won the Senior Bowl". The Big Lead. January 27, 2019.
- ^ "L.J. Collier Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
- ^ "2019 NFL Draft Scout L.J. Collier College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Straka, Dean (April 25, 2019). "Ex-TCU DE L.J. Collier selected by Seattle Seahawks with 29th overall pick in NFL draft". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Smith, Corbin (January 17, 2020). "Analysis: Grading Seahawks 2019 Rookie Class". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks - October 11th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks - November 19th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (May 1, 2022). "Seahawks reportedly decline fifth-year option on L.J. Collier's contract for 2023 season". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ Coyle, John (August 31, 2022). "Seahawks Sign CB Justin Coleman, Place DE L.J. Collier On Injured Reserve". Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ Boyle, John (October 26, 2022). "Seahawks Activate L.J. Collier From IR; Tre Brown & Travis Homer Return To Practice". Seahawks.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (March 21, 2023). "Cardinals Bring Back Antonio Hamilton, Add L.J. Collier". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (September 16, 2023). "Cardinals Place L.J. Collier On Injured Reserve". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ Urban, Darren (March 8, 2024). "Cardinals Bring Back L.J. Collier Before Free Agency". AZCardinals.com.
External links
edit
- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo Sports
- Arizona Cardinals bio
- TCU Horned Frogs bio