Restoring Tradition: Mike Collins and the Neville Tigers Roar Back
by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Restore the Roar.
This is Mike Collins’ self-imposed mandate for Neville football.
Roar, as any Neville fan worth their Tiger stripes will tell you, translates into playing football in the second weekend of December in New Orleans.
“The expectation around here, there ain’t but one. You can imagine what that is,’’ Collins, seven games into his first season as Neville’s coach, said through a huge chuckle. “That’s just the way (Neville fans) feel and that’s just the way the community is. Obviously, with the tradition we’ve had, there’s only one (standard). And, really, nothing else is going to be acceptable.’’
The Tigers have claimed 12 state championships, fourth most in Louisiana High School Athletic Association history, but none since winning consecutive Class 4A crowns in 2015 and 2014. Additionally, a six-time state finalist, Neville’s last appearance in an Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Prep Classic championship game was in 2016.
Now, fast forward.
The undefeated Tigers certainly have been roaring this season, Collins’ first as head coach after serving two years as defensive coordinator under former coach Jeff Tannehill. Tannehill resigned in April following a 10-2 season and a four-year won-loss record of 34-10 at his alma mater.
Neville, now 7-0 overall, and 2-0 in District 2-5A, has earned a No. 2 ranking in Class 5A in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association state poll in addition to a No. 4 ranking by geauxpreps.com.
More significantly, the Tigers are ranked No. 1 atop the Division I Non-Select power ratings compiled by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association and geauxpreps.com. Significant because the Tigers now can earn home-field advantage in the state playoffs leading to the LHSAA Prep Classic scheduled for Dec. 12-14 in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The roar reached deafening heights last Friday when the Tigers invaded Hoss Garrett Stadium in Ruston and downed the reigning Division I Non-Select state champions, 26-21. Neville’s District 2-5A victory halted the state’s longest active winning streak of 20 games held by the then-top-ranked Bearcats. The win also snapped a two-game losing streak by the Tigers against their arch-rivals.
Photo Courtesy: Neville High School
“It was a big game for us,’’ Neville cornerback Cam Riley said. “We lost to them the last two seasons, so we kind of played with a chip on our shoulder going into that game. It’s a big rivalry for us. I feel like we played harder than them.’’
“It was an awesome win,’’ added tight end Thomas Campbell, who had 5 receptions good for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. “We knew going into the week what we wanted to do and what we had to do in order to get that win. They came to Neville last year and took it away from us with about a minute left in the game. So we went into Ruston with a chip on our shoulder and knew what we wanted to do.
“We knew what it was going to take, the hard work and dedication, to beat those guys because they’re like a really good football team.’’
The Tigers won in the tough, physical, slobber-knocker fashion preferred by Collins, combining hard-nosed defense with offensive efficiency and a special teams touchdown.
Promising sophomore quarterback Parker Robinson completed 16 of 24 passes good for 208 yards and the two touchdowns to Campbell while being intercepted once. Senior tailback Jaylon Nichols rushed 15 times for 60 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown via a 5-yard run with 5 minutes, 37 seconds remaining.
Reed, a junior safety, returned a kickoff 71 yards for a touchdown to answer a Ruston score and give the Tigers a 20-14 second-half lead.
Reed also recorded 7 tackles for a Tigers defense that forced Ruston to punt five times in nine offensive possessions while collectively registering 5 tackles for losses and 3 sacks.
Senior defensive end Brody Whatley recorded 7 tackles and a sack in a defensive charge that limited the Bearcats to 101 yards rushing, a total made more impressive given that 70 of those yards came on one snap via Tulane commitment Josh Brantley’s lightning strike for a third-quarter touchdown.
Offensively, the Tigers out-gained the Bearcats, 344-301, while out-rushing the hosts, 198-101, and converting 8 of 12 times on third down. The Tigers’ biggest drive was their last in running out the final 3:10 on a possession that started at their own 2-yard line following a Ruston punt.
“It was a great feeling for us to be able to go over there, end a 20-game winning streak for them, beat them at home, and continue to do what we’re doing,’’ Collins said before turning rhetorical regarding the vital situation work the Tigers address each day in practice.
“Why are we successful? Why are we able to win ball games like we’re winning them? I think that’s a big thing. But as far as going over to Ruston and beating Ruston at Ruston when they’re the No. 1 ranked team power-point wise and probably (No. 1) in just about every poll as well, it was huge. It was huge for our kids.
“It kind of lets our kids know … We know we’re not going to be intimidated by anybody. We’re not going to be intimidated when we walk into any stadium to play. It doesn’t matter (against whom). Because the end represents a lot of things here.
“It represents lots of guys that came before you and lots of guys who are going to come after you and represents a lot of tradition. It represents a lot of state championship games and a lot of state runner-up (finishes). When we walk out on the field, we won’t be intimidated by anybody.’’
Collins, 63, is the son of former Northeast Louisiana coach Pat Collins and a football lifer who has spent much of his four-plus decades in coaching at the college level as a highly successful defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Growing up in northeast Louisiana area, Collins is a Ruston graduate and former starting right guard for the Bearcats during the late ’70s.
Collins brings an intense, in-your-face, old-school coaching approach that has transformed the Tigers into a reflection of their mentor. Something Neville fans can appreciate given the similar styles embodied by legendary coaches such as Bill Ruple, Charlie Brown, Joe Coats, and Mickey McCarty.
Collins’ emphasis on discipline and toughness is augmented by a stellar staff that boasts offensive coordinator Glenn Hunt, a former West Monroe assistant, who doubles as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator; passing game coordinator and receivers coach Andy Robinson; Steve Ensminger Jr. as quarterbacks coach; Leonard Caesar as running backs coach; and Chad Johnson as tight ends coach. Andy Robinson is a former head coach at St. Frederick.
Defensively, Collins promoted secondary coach Reagan Wise as his replacement at coordinator to direct the Tigers’ 4-2-5 scheme, with Courtney Wallace instructing the defensive line, Chris Campbell directing cornerbacks, and John Kade Lawrence tutoring the linebackers.
“Here’s the great thing about it,’’ Collins said. “I think I’ve assembled a tremendous staff. They make my job much easier. We’re all on the same page. Everybody has the same common goal. At the end of the day, guys are working hard to help our kids develop into young men. I’m very pleased with that part of it. I think that’s what we do.
“We try to give (the players) guidance, help them be better citizens, be better students, be better people. When we do that, then I think it’s easier to become a really good football team. I’ve been very blessed with the guys we have here to be able to do that. They’re outstanding men. They’re also really, really good football coaches. So I’m fortunate in that fact. That takes a load off of my plate.’’
Photo Courtesy: Neville High School and Bigg Zigg Photography
But the buck still stops at Collins’ desk and as he says, “Everybody knows how I am. They knew how I was when I took the job. As far as my expectations for the program, all I did was lay it out for the parents. And, obviously, the players already knew how I was going to be.’’
And how was that?
“We probably get yelled at more than anybody in the state,’’ Riley said with a chuckle. “Coach is always on us and that’s because he wants us to go hard. He knows what we’re capable of.’’
“I think (Collins’ approach) makes us all better, tougher, just more disciplined,’’ Whatley, a TCU commitment, said. “Cam’s not lying when he says he’s on our tails always, but I think it makes everyone better for sure.’’
The operative words are tough love which Neville players have come to embrace.
“He’s no stranger to us, so (the transition) wasn’t really hard to do,’’ Reed, the safety, said of Collins. “But Cam wasn’t lying. We get yelled at the most of any team in the state. I’d say, on our end, we know it’s all about love and it’s only making us better at the end of the day. How hard he is on us, it’s all about love though.’’
“Everybody loves him,’’ Campbell said of Collins. “Everybody respects him. He’s hard on us, but we all know it’s out of love and he wants the best for us. He just wants us to go hard every day.’’
The Tigers returned 10 starters, five offensively and five on defense, from last year’s 10-2 squad that advanced to the Division I Non-Select playoffs as a No. 2 seed while playing up in classification following a 9-1 season compiled in Class 4A competition.
Whatley, Reed, Riley, and the Tigers’ two other safeties, senior Robert Graves III and stellar junior Julian “Ju Ju’’ Burns, have led the defensive charge while Robinson, Nichols, Campbell, and senior wide receivers Kaleb Vaughn and Trendan Dumas have been difference-makers on offense.
The dynamic Vaughn, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound, 100-meter regional sprint champion in track and field, affects the game just by the fear factor his speed presents on the field. Vaughn has not been kicked to as a return specialist since the 2023 opener when he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. As a sophomore, Vaughn returned six kickoffs for touchdowns.
“Everybody is kicking the ball away from him and kicking it everywhere else,’’ Collins said. “When (they) do that, somebody else has got to step up. We talk about that all of the time.’’
Reed proved to be that next man up versus Ruston with his 71-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Statistically, Parker Robinson has been “lighting it up,’’ to borrow Collins’ terminology, after winning the starting position during the summer and preseason following his transfer from St. Frederick. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore has completed 85 of 131 passes (64.9 percent) good for 1,231 yards and 12 touchdowns while being intercepted twice in addition to rushing for 2 touchdowns.
Dumas leads all receivers with 19 catches good for 340 yards and 2 touchdowns followed by Vaughn with 23 receptions good for 263 yards and 4 TDs and then Campbell the tight end with 15 receptions good for 268 yards and 3 scores.
Nicholls, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, leads the Tigers in rushing with 630 yards and 8 touchdowns on 100 carries while averaging 105 yards in six games. Smaller reserve Tardashi Lemons, a 5-foot-4, 130-pound senior, ranks second in rushing with 389 yards and 5 touchdowns gained via 81 carries.
It was Ruston’s attention to Dumas and Vaughn at wide receiver that opened the door for Campbell’s two-touchdown catch performance versus Ruston, Collins said, while Parker Robinson continued to orchestrate an efficient and at times, high-octane offense that runs the same scheme utilized by Steve Ensminger Sr. as LSU offensive coordinator.
“Parker has just gotten better and better,’’ Collins said. “He’s just been incredible. He gets better every game. He’s a sophomore and he didn’t get here till the summer. Parker just kind of took the bull by the horns (in the quarterback competition) and rode it in there.
“Parker still is lighting it up. He’s still making good decisions. He’s making better decisions. He’s understanding what we’re trying to do. He’s going to get us in and out of plays. Age-wise, you’d think he was an older player, but he’s still just a sophomore and really doing a good job for us.’’
Defensively, the trio of safeties, Reed, Graves, and Burns, have proven to be significant difference-makers alongside Riley and Whatley.
Reed has recorded a team-leading 68 tackles and 2 interceptions to go with 1 tackle for loss and an interception return for a touchdown. Graves, a 5-foot-8, 140-pound senior who plays much larger than his size, ranks second in tackles with 50 stops, 5 tackles for losses, and 2 forced fumbles. Burns has 35 tackles with 1 tackle for loss and 1 fumble recovery.
Whatley leads the front four with 46 tackles, which ranks third on the team, in addition to recording 7 tackles for losses and 5 sacks. Riley ranks fourth with 41 tackles, 2 tackles for losses and 1 interception.
Junior kicker Brooks Yerger has been solid as a specialist, hitting both of his two field goal attempts and 27 of 29 PAT kicks in addition to surgically placing his kickoffs.
“Robert Graves has just been fantastic,’’ Collins said, his voice making a noticeable uptick. “If you asked me who our best defensive football player is, I’m going to tell you it’s Robert Graves.’’
Why?
“Robert makes all of the plays,’’ Collins said. “He’s always around the football. He’s always knocking the ball out. He’s always making tackles. He’s always making big plays for us. He’s small in stature, but, again, I tell you he’s our best defensive football player.’’
Whatley appreciates everything he’s seen across the board offensively and defensively, but leans toward crediting the big fellows upfront for being responsible for the success of the play-makers.
“I think we’re really good everywhere, but I definitely do think controlling the line of scrimmage with the O-line and D-line is a huge deal in winning football games,’’ Whatley said. “Especially when you play another team that has similar talent, that’s a big deal.’’
“I’m not taking sides here,’’ Reed said. “But I feel like the upfront (linemen), they do a good job in helping the back end (of the defense). They get a good rush on the quarterback. If you do get the ball out, you’ve got to get it out fast. If you don’t, you’re going down. Our offensive line makes things happen as well. They make (the offense) work with their push.’’
Photo Courtesy: Neville High School and Bigg Zigg Photography
“I feel like we’ve been pretty evenly balanced,’’ Riley said. “Offense has been scoring at will. The defense is getting big stops when we need it.’’
In addition to beating Ruston, the Tigers own marquee victories over Evangel Christian, Calvary Baptist, St. Thomas More, and lesser known Holmes County, Miss., which is 5-1 versus Magnolia state competition.
“The players have done a tremendous job of buying into what we’re doing,’’ Collins said. “We’re trying to educate them, not only in life but in football. It’s amazing that kids just don’t get out and punt, pass, and kick out in the backyard anymore. They’d just as soon get on a Nintendo or Playstation and do all that business as get out in the yard.
“We’re trying to educate them on football. We’re trying to give them the ability to be able to be successful in a game. It takes them, as well — as (much as) what we do on the field and what we do in practice — to buy into what you’re doing and buy into how you’re doing it and why we’re doing it.’’
The Tigers now move into the stretch drive towards the postseason with a 7 p.m. road game Friday vs Ouachita Parish followed by another home game versus West Monroe on Nov. 1 and a season-ending road trip to face undefeated and No. 8-ranked Alexandria on Nov. 8.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,’’ Whatley said, echoing Collins and the coaching staff’s doctrine. “We’re not looking ahead. All of our focus is on Ouachita. That’s really how we’re approaching it.’’
“One game at a time, that was our message to our team,’’ Collins said. “(Ouachita) is the biggest ballgame of the year because it’s our next one. If we don’t focus on that particular ballgame, then we’re going to be in trouble.
“We can’t worry about the outside noise. We can’t worry about people telling us how good we are. We can’t worry about people telling us, ‘Hey, great job. See you in the Dome.’ Because there’s a long way before we get there.
Speaking of the Dome, the Division I Non-Select championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13. Which also just happens to coincide with Collins’ 64th birthday.
“Hopefully, we’re down there in the Dome,’’ Collins said through another good-natured chuckle. “There ain’t but one way’’ to celebrate a birthday.
A huge key in Collins’ mind centers around the Tigers ability to stay healthy.
“We need a team that’s healthy,’’ the Neville coach said. “.We’ve got to stay healthy throughout the season. That’s what I tell everybody. We’ve got as good of a chance as everybody else in our division if we can stay healthy. If we can, then we’ll have a chance. If we don’t stay healthy and lose the wrong people, you can be one or two players away from just crumbling.
“What we’ve got to make sure to do is just keep doing what we’re doing. Keep continuing to press on in practice. We’ve got to work hard every day. We’ve got to work hard to get each other better. We’ve got some things to work on and we’re going to continue to work on them.
“It’s like I told them, ‘Y’all just think I’ve been hard on you. I’ll be harder on you now than I ever have just because I’m not going to slack up on you.’ And they know that. They have a great idea of that.’’
“Everybody on the team,’’ Riley said, “we really want a state championship. Going into this season we knew everything was going to be different having a new head coach. We knew it was going to be tougher on us. So we knew we just were going to have to put in the work.’’
The Tigers also are carrying the memory of a fallen teammate this season. Senior safety Tarver Braddock died in a tragic cabin fire in January while hunting in the woods with five teammates. The fire ignited by embers from a front porch stove occurred while the players were sleeping. The five who survived did so by crawling out of the quick-tinder blaze on their hands and knees and diving out of windows.
“That’s kind of been a bell cow we’ve been carrying,’’ Collins said of Braddock, whose jersey No. 18 is being worn by his cousin Campbell at tight end to honor his teammate. “Tyler is hanging around with us. We’re lucky we didn’t lose all six of them. So (all of the players) understand that you’re not promised tomorrow. We have kind of lived for that over the course of the season so far.’’
The Tigers’ journey through such a catastrophic tragedy and difficult life lesson, Collins believes, ultimately has produced positives.
“Hopefully, we’re growing and we understand what kind of opportunity we have each and every week,’’ Collins said. “Because No. 1, you’re not guaranteed tomorrow and we need to understand that.’’
“I definitely think we knew we could be this good,’’ Robinson the quarterback said. “And we still can be a whole lot better. We all knew we had the potential to be this good and we knew we had to work and just keep getting better and fixing the mistakes we’ve made and just keep getting better each week. But I definitely think we knew we could be here and that we can go a lot further.’’