What does Penn State get in cornerback Audavion Collins?: Commitment impact

Penn State earned its ninth transfer portal commitment of the offseason on Tuesday when former Mississippi State cornerback Audavion Collins picked the program over Western Kentucky, Akron, and potentially others.

The Georgia native will be on campus for preseason camp in August. Fellow portal pickups, who are already on campus, will join him there. They include running back Trey Potts, receivers  Malik McClain and Dante Cephas, defensive tackle Alonzo Ford, and punter Riley Thompson in the scholarship ranks plus walk-ons Addison Penn, an offensive lineman, and kicker Alex Felkins. Storm Duck won’t join them, of course. The cornerback transferred in for spring practice but left after it. He is now at Louisville.

Duck’s departure necessitated the Lions’ push to add another player in position coach Terry Smith’s room. Penn State offered former Division-II cornerback Donovan Callis, who ultimately picked Cincinnati. It also moved on Collins, of course, who visited Monday and committed Tuesday.

What does Penn State get in Audavion Collins?

Collins stands 5-foot-11, 165 pounds. He did not see any playing time during his first and only season in Starkville. He then entered the transfer portal in April. As a senior at Covington, Ga., Newton High, Collins racked up 62 tackles (five for loss) plus 19 pass breakups and an interception. He also played some offense and also returned punts. A three-star recruit in the Class of 2022 On3 Industry Rankings, 247Sports had the highest ranking on the defender. It called him the No. 63 cornerback in his class and No. 71 prospect in Mississippi.

While Duck was brought in with hopes of being able to play immediately, Collins’ short-term outlook isn’t as clear. He is the lightest scholarship cornerback on the roster by 11 pounds (freshman Zion Tracy is 176), so focusing on nutrition and strength and conditioning looks to be the first order of business. With his redshirt year already completed, Penn State should aim to work him into its special teams rotation at worst and perhaps backend cornerback rotation snaps at best. That may be a low bar. But, it feels like a fair one at this stage of his career.

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