Richard Collier
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| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
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| Date of birth: | October 23, 1981 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Shreveport, Louisiana | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Valdosta State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2006 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
| Games played: | 8 |
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| Games started: | 1 |
| Return yards: | 8 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Richard Bernard Collier (born October 23, 1981) is a former professional American football player. He played offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) from 2006–2008, until a shooting incident left him paralyzed from the waist down, ending his football career.
Collier played college football for the Valdosta State University Blazers. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006 as an undrafted free agent, and played two seasons for the team. His career was cut short after he suffered multiple gunshot wounds in early September 2008. As a result, he was left paralyzed and with his left leg amputated.
Collier was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He played football at Northwood High School, where he graduated in 2001. Poor grades prevented him from attending college, and he spent the next two years working in the produce section of a local Wal-Mart. Eventually, he decided to give football and college another try, and enrolled at Tyler Junior College in Texas. There he soon improved both his grades and his physical fitness, and made the Tyler football team's starting lineup. In 2004 he transferred to Valdosta State University in Georgia, where he played for the Valdosta State Blazers football team. The team won the 2004 NCAA Division II National Football Championship, and Collier received All-America honors in 2005, his senior year.
Following the 2006 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. He was inactive for the first 12 games of the 2007 season. He was suspended for two games and fined by Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio after being arrested for driving under the influence on November 3. Not wanting to bring additional negative publicity to the team and threaten a potential chance at making the starting lineup, he pleaded no contest to all charges at the subsequent hearing and made a public vow to keep himself out of trouble. 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.
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