Roy Exum
Under normal circumstances the story on Thunder Collins wouldn't deserve a second glance, but when three University of Tennessee football players are suddenly charged with attempted armed robbery, things aren't exactly normal.
Thunder Collins? You may remember he was once a highly-touted running back at Nebraska. He arrived in Lincoln as a junior-college All-American from Los Angeles, but he apparently became "troubled" after his junior year (2001). Oh, he played in all 12 games for the Cornhuskers, ringing up 647 yards rushing, five touchdowns, and catching 19 passes for 189 yards.
But during his senior year (2002) he was suspended from the team for "violating team rules." Soon after, before he ever played again, Collins abruptly quit because he said he needed to take care of his younger brother, who had joined him in Lincoln to "stay away from gangs" in LA.
During that same year he was arrested in Lincoln and pled guilty to "disturbing the peace." He copped the plea because prosecutors agreed to drop two assault charges. The next year, in Corvallis, Oregon, he was acquitted on assault-and-battery charges, but, in 2006, he did a 10-day stretch in an Omaha jail for "obstructing a police officer" as rumors of a shooting and drug possession were swirling about.
The reason I bring this up is that "attempted armed robbery" isn't like a UT football player getting caught drinking beer. It is far more serious and sports writers in Nashville, Knoxville and elsewhere in the state are writing that UT must "get serious" in dealing with players who commit criminal offenses.
Nashville writer David Climer urged head coach Lane Kiffin to immediately adopt a "zero tolerance" stance in the Tennessean on Friday and recalled that devastating 14-month stretch under former coach Philip Fulmer when 11 different UT players ran afoul of the law.
For instance, Climer wrote, "When defensive tackle Tony McDaniel threw a punch in a pickup basketball game that broke four bones in a guy's face, Fulmer offered this punishment: a two-game suspension. I guess that's one game for every two broken bones."
The three UT players who were arrested early Thursday - freshmen Janzen Jackson, Nu'Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards - did not travel to today's game at Ole Miss and, as of late Friday, Richardson was still being held at the Knox County jail.
Now, back to Thunder Collins. On Thursday he was sentenced to life in prison for his part in an Omaha drug deal that had gone sour. A suspected drug dealer was killed and a Nebraska jury, after hearing testimony and the arguments, believes Collins was the gunman.
Further, Collins - who showed no remorse because he claims he is innocent - was given a total of 110 years on other related charges in the tragedy and the judge decreed the sentences would be served one after the other. In other words, barring a successful appeal, the Nebraska running back will likely die in jail.
During the trial in August - before this week's sentencing - Thunder Collins heard the guilty verdict and immediately screamed at the jury, "Are you happy? Are you happy? You know I didn't kill anyone."
Collins' story, all along, was that he just went to rob the drug dealer. So after the sentencing on Thursday where his attorney told the judge they would appeal, the defiant Collins loudly told the court, "I'll see you in 18 months, judge!"
Obviously Thunder, who was recruited and then wooed and coddled by Nebraska eight years ago, doesn't realize that life doesn't have the same "benefits" that come with college athletics. The former junior-college All-American has obviously morphed into a convicted killer who will now spend his life in a jail cell.
So if that isn't a very sobering thought, or an astute observation given the latest UT embarrassment, let's now hear from 20-year-old Corey Zickefoose, who was one of the guys who was robbed by the trio of UT freshman on Thursday. In an interview with Channel 6 television, he said, "I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. It's my football team.
"Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?" 6 News asked.
"Yeah, it's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes," Zickefoose said.
Can you believe that? Don't worry - I saw the tape and, while it is still unfathomable to me, I can finally understand how Thunder Collins slipped underneath the radar in football-crazed Nebraska for as long as he did.
royexum@aol.com