Overcoming adversity leads Tory Collins to contract with the Chicago Bears

Two years ago, former Northwestern State star Tory Collins was experiencing perhaps the most heartbreaking time of his life when Hurricane Katrina destroyed his New Orleans home and uprooted his family.

Working through adversity, the three-time All-Southland Conference defensive tackle held his head up high and continued, successfully, through the hardships of that event as he took the playing field day in and day out.

All of the hard work paid off as Collins was signed to a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears after impressing the team during last weekend’s rookie minicamp.

“That’s what motivates me to go out and work hard on the field and just continue with my goal to play in the NFL, and to be able to take care of my family,” Collins said. “My house was under water and my mom lost everything. I had 17 family members living with me in a two-bedroom apartment, but we made the best of it.”

Collins went undrafted two weeks ago in the draft, but after signing the contract with the Bears earlier in the week, he couldn’t hide his emotions as he made the journey back to Louisiana.

“I was getting ready to get on the plane and I just broke down and started crying,” Collins said. “God has blessed me, giving me this opportunity.”

Collins will get his second chance at impressing the organization next week when he reports for the Bears’ full squad minicamp and stepping on the field with NFL stars such as Brian Urlacher, Olin Kreutz and Ruben Brown.

All pomped up

Academic advisor for athletics Julie Lessiter, Margeaux Fisher, Leslie Lambert, Cameron Waugh, Ashlee Bucher, Carrie Crowell, Samantha Ford, Magali Van den Bergh, Adam Jonson

Other than a winning locker room, there's no place that's more fun to be than the hallways of Prather Coliseum in the minutes before graduation ceremonies begin.

The corridors are filled with people whose futures seemingly have no limits.

That sure seemed to be the case last Thursday evening at the traditional graduation reception for student-athletes and other athletic department personnel, hosted by director of athletics Greg Burke and the incomparable Julie Lessiter, our academic advisor for athletics.

These events serve as a reminder why we're really here. The games, the scores and the cheers of the crowd are great, but the bottom line is all about enriching the lives of the student-athletes and seeing them progress toward the goal of earning a college degree.

It's not easy. For student-athletes, balancing the demands of their responsibilities with their sport and their academic workload is a tremendous challenge.

There's little doubt that their experiences over the last 4-5 years have prepared them well for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

A tip of the cap goes to Lessiter, who is the best coach ever at Northwestern who doesn't have an official "win-loss" record to her credit. Look at the strong performances in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate report over the past three years, or the consistent strong representation of NSU on conference academic honor rolls, and as the student-athletes and coaches will tell you, a lot of the credit for that traces back to our gritty little Brit.

If Julie did have a W-L record, it would be impeccable.