Trae Collins never will forget his first career start.
It was a little more than eight months ago that the Southern Mississippi redshirt sophomore defensive back drew a start against Washington in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
“I worked hard for it for a long time,” said Collins, a former New Hope High School standout.
Collins, now a redshirt junior, worked his way into that starting role. He played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and 13 last season before the bowl game. He will start at defensive back at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) when Southern Miss plays at Kentucky. The game is part of a two-game series that will see Kentucky make its first trip to Hattiesburg on Sept. 2, 2017.
“We haven’t beaten an SEC school in 15 years,” Collins said. “That would be something to build upon. I’m ready to make it happen.”
Kentucky is a touchdown favorite. After the season opener, Southern Miss will play three of its next four games at home at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Two of those games will be against Conference USA rivals UTEP and Rice.
Southern Miss, which went 9-5 (7-1 in C-USA) and won the C-USA West Division title and competed for the league championship last season, is favored in every game by ESPN’s football power index except Southeastern Conference opponents Kentucky and LSU — both road games. Those the Conference USA team with the highest conference win percentage hosts the Dec. 3 championship.
“We’re expecting a bowl game. We’re expecting to win a conference championship,” Collins said. “I’m excited. We made it (last year) but we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to when we got there (a 45-28 loss to Western Kentucky). This year, it’s not only to make it but to actually win it.”
Following the loss to Western Kentucky, Southern Miss lost to Washington 44-31 on Dec. 26, 2015, in Dallas.
Collins was rated a two-star recruit in the 2013 class. As a junior at New Hope High, he led Class 5A with nine interceptions. He had 70 tackles and 14 interceptions in his final two high school seasons and was also a dangerous receiver — 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior and senior.
“Everyone wants to catch touchdowns, but defense is something I embrace,” Collins said, “being a shutdown corner. That’s pretty fun, too. I enjoy it.”
The game speeds up at the next level, especially in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), so Collins shifted his attention to defense.
“It’s not just simple Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3,” Collins said. “A lot more concepts. It’s more about getting in your playbook. At the end of the day, you’re an athlete, but at the next level it’s all about mismatches and Xs and Os.”
Southern Miss is coming off its first winning season since 2011. This year’s success will depend on two former standouts in the Greater Golden Triangle area who are starting for the Golden Eagles. Former Noxubee County defensive end Dylan Bradley will be a few yards in front of Collins at nose tackle when the season kicks off in Lexington, Kentucky.
“We instantly clicked,” Bradley said. “We instantly linked up. From there our friendship has grown. Playing with Trae, I have learned a lot about him.”
Like new coach Jay Hopson, Bradley has probably learned Collins was willing to climb the ladder and earn his starting spot. The expectations have grown with his game. He will be take over for graduated Kalan Reed, who started 14 games last season and was fourth on the team in tackles.
Collins had two pass breakups and two pass deflections last season. He forced a fumble and recovered one. Twice he had career highs in tackles, six in games against North Texas and at Louisiana Tech.
“I had to learn a lot, but I’ve got it down pat now,” Collins said. “I’m ready to have a big year.”
His starting role proves that.
In addition to Saturday’s game, Southern Miss will appear on ESPN’s family of networks Nov. 25 when it plays host to Louisiana Tech in Hattiesburg. That game could have implications for the C-USA’s conference championship game the following week on ESPN.
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