TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) \u2014 Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins is entering his sixth NFL season, all with the Cardinals, after the team selected him in the first round of the 2021 draft.<\/p>\n
Collins finished college and earned a degree in exercise science last season. Collins said he is living proof that a small-town kid can accomplish big things.<\/p>\n
Sixth season, same team<\/p>\n
Collins has played under three different coaching staffs during his career. Asked if it feels like year six in the NFL, Collins said, \u201cFor sure. Like, it goes by fast. You know, the body and everything feels good, but it goes by fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, thinking about, you know, it\u2019s really like when watching film, like I\u2019ve seen this play before, and it\u2019s like, oh, that was like three, four years ago,\u201d Collins said. \u201cLike, oh man, that\u2019s crazy to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recovery routine<\/p>\n
Collins has played 84 games in his career. He explained how he has maintained that longevity. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, mostly like massages, relaxing, getting enough sleep, enough hydration, stuff like that. And then eating right. Those are, you know, basically the easy basics that you can do,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go in when like all the red flags are going up on my body and, you know, I call it like the dashboard of a car,\u201d Collins said. \u201cAll the lights are going off. That\u2019s when I usually go in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins said he does not get deep tissue massages. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not. I can\u2019t do that either,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI\u2019ll be like, squirming around. It\u2019s terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Draft day memory<\/p>\n
Collins was asked about video from the 2021 NFL draft showing him falling over after his name was called. \u201cIt was crazy,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI was just very blessed to come from a small town and just go to college. You know, I was very fortunate that my mom didn\u2019t have to pay for my college or I didn\u2019t have to pay for college. We were very happy then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think it was just all that kind of summed up in one moment of, you know, the days of going from when you\u2019re 17 years old and you\u2019re in a college football program working and going and going and going all day long from class,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
Growing up in a small town<\/p>\n
Collins grew up in Hominy, Oklahoma, a town he said has a population of about 3,400, including a prison located in the town.<\/p>\n
Collins said that as a kid, he moved constantly from one sport to another. \u201cIf you\u2019re not in football, you\u2019re in basketball,\u201d Collins said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not there, you\u2019re in baseball or track. And then you have summer football and summer basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins said he was constantly with the same group of friends. \u201cSo you\u2019re constantly with your best friends 24-7,\u201d Collins said. \u201cSo you end up being like brothers because you\u2019re constantly with them no matter what sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins also described the visibility of living in a small town. \u201cIf you\u2019re riding your bike somewhere, you\u2019re not supposed to be in a small town, if you\u2019re not supposed to cross the street, whatever it may be, you know, someone\u2019s going to see you,\u201d Collins said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re going to, you know, the parents are going to tell the other parents. So that was one of the things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life outdoors<\/p>\n
Collins said his rural Oklahoma upbringing shaped his love of the outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, like I\u2019m from the middle of nowhere. I spend a lot of time outdoors hunting, fishing, doing stuff like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said Cardinals teammates keep asking for an invitation to join him hunting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI need to do that. Guys are on me about taking them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins said he has used a bow and arrow and has experience with live capture. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done all the way down to live capture,\u201d Collins said. \u201cSo it\u2019s like keeping them alive. It\u2019s quite a trick, but it\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
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