Mark Collins: Going Non-stop From the Bottom to the Top

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  Imagine putting on a play in your parents’ garage one week and having it open on Broadway the next.

Or playing kazoo for quarters on a street corner one night and opening at Carnegie Hall two days later.

That’s kind of how it’s been for Mark Collins, rookie cornerback for the New York Giants, who is one game away from returning home to play in the Super Bowl at Pasadena.

Mark Collins in the Super Bowl. Try saying it without laughing. Sure, and Liz Taylor weds for life.

A year ago, Collins was a nice little senior at Cal State Fullerton, a nice little college in Orange County.

Then, all of a sudden, wham!, it’s Marlo Thomas twirling umbrellas in Times Square with neon lights and glitter.

“It’s real different,” Collins said Friday as he prepared for Sunday’s NFC title game against the Washington Redskins.

In fact, in the great football hotel of life, one cannot imagine a room any lower than Fullerton’s and a penthouse suite any sweeter than the Giants’.

And Collins can tell you all about the elevator ride.

Yeah, it’s been real different.

Some little things:

The Giants, for example, play and practice on artificial turf.

Once, the Titans lost three players because they twisted ankles in divots created by the school’s golf class, which shared the same practice field.

The Giants, of course, fly chartered flights.

The Titans, we know, once shared a plane ride with arch-rival Cal State Long Beach to save a few bucks.

The Giants, at a cost of $40,000, built an elaborate weight training facility in 1984.

Collins and teammates helped construct the team’s weight room at Fullerton in 1985.

The Giants eat only the best foods.

The Titans finally got a training table last season. In years past, players received coupons to a local fast-food chain.

The Giants have 18,000 people waiting in line for season tickets. If a season ticket holder dies, he is allowed to pass the tickets on to his family only after the Giants verify the will and death certificate.

The Titans can offer season-ticket packages to you and every living relative you know.

Funny thing, but Collins said he wouldn’t trade his Titan days for anything.

“I had a great time at Fullerton,” he said. “You know, the school wasn’t known for anything. But there were certain things about it. I’m not saying schools like USC cheat or anything, but you see those guys with cars and things. We didn’t get a weight room until my senior year.”

Yes, there was something charming about Fullerton, something innocent--a great place for a small-town guy with big dreams.

And didn’t it all happen so fast for Collins? An All-American talent at Fullerton, he was the Giants’ second-round pick in 1986. He moved into the starting lineup early in the season when Elvis Patterson suffered a groin pull.

Collins stayed there until breaking his left wrist against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 1. Patterson is back at left corner, but Collins, broken wrist and all, still plays on all passing downs.

Collins’ only wish going into training camp was finding his name on the opening-day roster. Now, many are predicting stardom.

And, perhaps, a chance to show off in the Super Bowl.

“It’ll be like a homecoming,” he said.

Collins grew up in San Bernardino and was a three-sport star at Pacific High School.

He chose Fullerton because the people there told him he could play football and baseball. He never did get around to the baseball part, but some say he made the right career choice.

Collins joined one of the NFL’s best defenses in the Giants, where he rubs shoulder pads with some of the big boys.

“This defense is great,” he said. “If you’re an average player and you’ve got (linebackers) Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson in there with you, you just kind of rise up to their level. You don’t want to let those guys down. They make you want to do something extra.”

But never will Collins forget his Titan days. How do you ever forget the joys of bus travel and hotel managers who never seemed to get your team’s reservations?

How can you not love playing home games to empty seats in somebody else’s stadium at Santa Ana?

At what other Division I school can you stroll into the head coach’s office and talk about life.

“At Fullerton you could have one-on-one relationships with your coaches,” Collins said. “Me and Coach (Gene) Murphy talked a lot. I don’t know if it’s like that at Alabama.”

Collins still keeps in touch with Murphy. And secondary coach Steve Hall. And former teammates such as lineman Daren Gilbert (New Orleans Saints) and receiver James Pruitt (Miami Dolphins).

It feels good to swap stories and successes and talk about the way things used to be at Fullerton, where big dreams can come true, even if your team once had to build your own portable stadium to keep home games on campus.

Like Collins said, being big time makes you appreciate small time.

Or is it the other way around?