Richard Collier

Infobox NFLretired
name=Richard Collier


width=
caption=
position=Offensive tackle
number=76
birthdate=birth date and age|1981|10|23
deathdate=
debutyear=2006
finalyear=2008
undraftedyear=2006
college=Valdosta State
teams=
* Jacksonville Jaguars (2006-2008)
stat1label=Games played
stat1value=8
stat2label=Games started
stat2value=1
stat3label=Return yards
stat3value=8
nfl=COL440418
highlights=
* First-team All-GSC (2005)
* Hon. mention All-American (2005)

Richard Bernard Collier (born October 23, 1981 in city-state|Shreveport|Louisiana) is a former American football offensive tackle of the National Football League. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Valdosta State.

Collier played two seasons for the Jaguars through the 2007 season. His career was cut short after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in early September 2008. The incident left him paralyzed from the waist down and with his left leg amputated. [" [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/09/29/collier.ap/index.html?cnn=yes Doctors: Jaguars tackle Collier is paralyzed and had leg amputated] ." "CNN Sports Illustrated". September 29, 2008.]

College career

Tyler Junior College

He enrolled at Tyler Junior College in Texas, about 90 miles west of Shreveport. He showed up weighing 390 pounds, having not lifted a weight since high school. Collier quickly got his grades—and body—in shape and worked his way into the starting lineup.

Valdosta State

He transferred to Valdosta State in 2004 and helped the Blazers win the Division II national championship that season. He earned All-America honors as a senior in 2005.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Following the 2005 NFL Draft, Collier was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent on April 30. He made the final roster following the preseason and went on to play in four games his rookie season, all in a reserve role.

Collier was inactive for the first 12 games of the 2007 season. He was briefly suspended by the team on November 3 after being arrested for driving under the influence. He appeared in the team's final four games of the season and made his first career start in the regular season finale against the Houston Texans on December 30.

In May 2008, the Jaguars signed Collier to a contract extension. On June 9, he pleaded no contest to drunk driving. [http://www.kffl.com/player/14326/nfl/news] Collier played on all four of the Jaguars' preseason games in a reserve role.

Two days after a shooting in which he suffered life-threatening injuries, the Jaguars placed Collier on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list on September 4. On September 29, it was confirmed that Collier's football career was over, as the shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down and with his left leg amputated.

Personal

hooting

On September 2, 2008, Collier was shot and critically wounded outside an apartment building in Jacksonville as he and former Jacksonville teammate Kenny Pettway waited for two women they had met at a nightclub. [cite web |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/specials/preview/2008/09/02/collier.shot.ap/index.html |title=Jaguars' Collier shot, has life-threatening injuries |accessdate=2008-09-02 |author=Associated Press |authorlink=Associated Press |date=2008-09-02 |work=SI.com |quote=Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot and critically wounded outside an apartment building early Tuesday as he and a former teammate waited for two women they had met at a nightclub, police said. ] Pettway was unharmed.

Later that month on September 29, it was revealed that Collier had suffered 14 gunshot wounds, including five to his bladder and two to his lower spine which left him paralyzed from the waist down. A blood clot later caused the amputation of his left leg above the knee. [cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jitsmImwBd8Jrr41CcRFefxoNL3QD93GJAB81 |title=Doctors: Shot Jacksonville lineman is paralyzed |accessdate=2008-09-29 |author=Associated Press |authorlink=Associated Press |date=2008-09-29 |work=Associated Press]

References

External links

* [http://jaguars.com/Team/Player.aspx?id=2650 Jacksonville Jaguars bio]