Welcome to Saturday Spotlight! Here, we dive deep into the lives of Ohio State student-athletes and learn more about their journeys to Columbus, their love of the Buckeye traditions and who they are as competitors and students.
Before beginning his time as Buckeye, Stephen Collier had an interesting path that led him to Columbus. After an outstanding high school career, Collier was recruited by Urban Meyer to play quarterback — however, a small list of injuries and other quarterbacks left him sidelined for three years.
Two College Football Playoff appearances and one national championship later, Collier decided to retire from football on Jan. 19, 2017, but continues to be involved with the team. Collier is currently a graduate student at Ohio State, and is using his free time to travel and take in new experiences.
We spoke with the former Buckeye this week to discuss his recruitment to Columbus, memories from the quarterback room with J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones and much more — including his recent retirement.
When did you realize you might have a chance to play football at the Division I level?
Stephen Collier: It had always been a dream of mine growing up in elementary school, watching college football every Saturday with my family and everything. Obviously, I was playing football at the time, so I knew it was a goal of mine at the time to play college football. In high school in south Georgia, I was a freshman, didn't really know much, I just knew that if I performed well enough that hopefully, I would get some looks. So freshman year, I was just playing on the freshman team or whatever. My sophomore year I really was still playing junior varsity, honestly, and then the summer heading into my junior year, I started going to a lot of camps and seeing the guys who were getting offers and everything — and I was like, 'Oh, I'm just as good as these guys, or even better than some of these guys.' Georgia is obviously a very talented state in regards to football, so once I saw that I just thought, 'I can do this, too.' So I started taking it really seriously, got my chance at a combine and did really well there and the rest is history. I came up here and got close to coach Meyer.
Take me through through your recruitment. Where were you looking/hoping to go originally? Where were you heading before you received an offer from Ohio State?
SC: College football recruiting is crazy, but then at quarterback, it's even crazier just because there's generally only one spot per class. Where one person commits can really, really change the whole landscape of things of where everybody else commits. Everybody's first offers are kind of low-level; I think Troy was my first offer. That was really cool obviously because as a high school kid, you do finally have that concrete, tangible thing that says 'Hey, I can go play college football.' Then, I started to get more offers as I started to get my name out there and noticed more. I was really liking Florida State, but then I sat down with Jimbo Fisher on a Saturday, then the next Saturday, J.J. Cosentino committed — and I was crushed. I wanted to go to Florida State so bad, but it was cool. I really liked Auburn, Cincinnati, just a bunch of different places really. Everyone in the business is very awesome, and all the facilities are amazing wherever you go, but nothing like Ohio State or Alabama or anything like that. So I was just trying to feel everything out really, but then during spring practice, coach (Tom) Herman came down and watched me throw — and I was like, 'Ohhhh, shoot. This is the first big college that's really coming down.' There's major programs like Auburn and Florida State, but then there's the Goliaths, the behemoths of college football; So you have Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC. That was the first one I came in contact with, and that was a big thing for me because at that point, I kind of wanted to hold off on everybody else so I could see what I could do there. So coach Herman came and saw me throw, then he told me to come up to throw for Coach Meyer. I did that, then it was like a waiting game because they wanted to see some other people throw as well — and I think they saw Deshaun (Watson). But, (Ohio State) ended up offering me on June 21 I believe, and I committed on the spot.
What made you decide that Ohio State was the place for you?
SC: It's really cliche to say because coach Meyer says it all the time, but everything about Ohio State is elite. It's top of the line, it's the best you're going to get and I could see myself really just trying to be the greatest here — and that's kind of what coach Meyer preached. Second to that, a lot of it is also the feel of the campus and everything, and I just felt like it was home. When I came up here, it felt good, it felt right and felt like a place I could live and grow — and maybe one day have a family here. It just seemed like a good fit.
Do you have any funny stories from your time on the team?
SC: Well, I would say that nobody on the team calls me Stephen. My name on the team is 'lightskin,' given to me by Cardale Jones. He called me 'lightskin' and it just kind of stuck. Then, everybody after that started to call me 'lightskin,' and that just kind of started a tradition. So then whenever a freshman comes in, they get a name — so like, Joe (Burrow) has one, Dwayne (Haskins) has one, but you don't get called by that name by anyone underneath you like a seniority thing.
When did you know who the starter was for the 2015 season?
SC: To be honest, we didn't know until, like, a week before. We didn't know anything because they were splitting reps all the way up, and I didn't know who was starting and I was in that room. It was just a weird time because all of us are so tight in that (quarterback) room — but it was never awkward or anything because we want to see each other succeed. It was weird because of how long it took, and also because of how accomplished both of those guys were at the time. With J.T. leading us to the (Big Ten) Championship, then Cardale winning (the National Championship), it was very a strange dynamic and it wasn't like one guy was blowing one out of the water. So nobody really knew who was going to start.
People saw it as a 'battle' between Cardale and J.T., but it really wasn't. It was just J.T. trying to be the best J.T. he can be, and it was Cardale trying to be the best Cardale he can be. It was never, like, 'I have to better than J.T. on this play,' or 'I have to be better than Cardale on this play.' It was 'Let me go to my job, and the rest will take care of itself.' That was the mindset they both had.
How close are still with those J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones? What's your favorite story or experience with that group?
SC: Those are my best friends! We started a group chat, we talk every day and I was with both of them literally last weekend just hanging out. They come to my house, we hang out and talk all the time, and that's never going to go away. Those guys will be in my wedding; Joe, too. Joe got picked on at first, but Joe's come around and is definitely one of those guys that will be in my wedding. Those guys are my brothers for life.
My favorite experience with those guys is tough, because we've been through a lot, but obviously winning the National Championship was amazing. I remember there was, like, a minute-thirty left, and I was sitting on the bench with J.T. and we were just sitting there alone thinking, 'This is really about to happen. We're really about to win a national championship.' It was just really cool to do that with him because that's something I will never forget — and just seeing Cardale do what he did, I mean, it doesn't get better than that.
Those are the big things, but even the small things like going through those two-a-days in the fall and summer, going to camp, and having to room with Cardale and J.T. for two weeks. Even the small things can just be the best memories.
While Ohio State prepared to take on Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship, you portrayed Marcus Mariota for the scout team offense. What went into that preparation? Did you actually have to learn their entire offense?
SC: Yeah, it was a lot. Marcus is obviously very good at football, and also, Oregon was really high-powered that year. So we watched a ridiculous amount of film, and also, the big thing that year was just the tempo. I think they were running a play every 16 seconds, so coach Meyer had banners and posters put all around the facility saying '16 seconds'. So it was a lot on me to get the scout team motivated, get everyone down and set. We had two groups of guys going, and it was insane. We had one line go in, then the next one, then the next one, then the next one, then it would just go back and forth to just get the defense ready. I'm glad we did that because that's exactly what we saw in the game.
Who do think will start at quarterback next year?
SC: That's a very tough question, and I think the person who is going to start is going who the guys rally behind. It's going to be the guy who can lead the team, who understand situations, is the smartest, who really just knows how to win games. Coach Meyer loves how tough J.T. is, and the guy is going to be the person who goes and gets you that fourth-and-one at Penn State in double overtime. Joe is a great leader, and he is very smart. (He's) very consistent, knows what he's doing, and feels comfortable back there — which wasn't always the case, but it's been great to see him grow over the years. All the guys like him, and the same goes for Dwayne. I don't think I've ever seen a ball come out of anybody's hands that looks like Dwyane's; It just has a pop on it, it just look's like he was born to throw a football. Both these guys are just very talented and we'll see how it goes, and obviously, Tate (Martell) is getting in the mix, too. But personally, I think it'll be between Joe and Dwayne, but I don't know who will start after J.T.
What went in your decision to retire?
SC: Just kind of where I was at with my spirit. I obviously graduated, so that played a role in it as well. My knee was probably the biggest factor just as far as where I was at the time, and not really feeling that it was it was exactly where I needed it to be to perform like I once had. Once you go through an ACL (surgery), it's six-to-eight months of recovery and then after that, it feels 100 percent, but it's not. It's like an extra gear is missing from your car or something, and you can't do things the way you used to. All of those things played a role, and I'm very involved academically here, I'm a graduate student here, and I really just wanted to make sure I was set up long term for the future.
What are you doing now?
SC: Now to be honest, I've just been doing graduate school, I'm getting a Masters of Science in Kinesiology and Sports Management. I've been traveling a lot, I've been to three foreign countries since I've been out of football, the Bahamas, Mexico and it's been phenomenal. I took some time just to myself because when you're in that bubble of football, it's just 'go, go, go, go, go, workout, go to class, go eat, go to meetings,' and you don't have time to go do anything. So I've just been taking time to myself, reading as many books as I can, meeting as many people as I can. I'll probably start doing internship stuff now and here in the summer through the athletic department, and have that carry out into the fall.
What is something you would tell an incoming student or recruit about Ohio State that you'd like them to know?
SC: Everybody's heard it, but I would just say that there is no place like Ohio State as far as the people here and who you meet. What you're able to do here is just so amazing as far as where it can take you in life — and I would just say to meet as many people as you can, start as many relationships as you can and do as much as you can. If there's an event on campus and it peaks your interest in the slightest, go to it because you never know who you're going to meet. Some of my best friends outside of football I've met just because I randomly decided to go to a culture night or a Stephen A. Smith presentation. Ohio State does a great job of putting on those events, and making sure there is stuff to do for everybody. So I would just say to meet as many people as you can, experience as much as you can, because at the end of the day that's what life's about.
