Speed gamer: BYU's Collie average on the track, unbeatable on the field

"It's game speed. I think it's a whole lot different on a clock than it is in a game. One day it said I'm a 4.6," Collie said. "That is what the clock said that day. I know I'm faster than that.

"But yeah, a lot has to do with game speed, you're not worrying about your start; you're just worrying about getting to the ball and playing natural. That's the difference between clock and game speed."

Perhaps the biggest example of game speed versus clock speed was former NFL star wide receiver Jerry Rice, who at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds was a similar size to Collie. Reportedly, Rice ran a 4.71 time in the 40 early in his NFL career, which is one reason he was overlooked in the draft. Steve Young ran the 40 faster than Rice, but, on the field with pads on, Rice took it to a different level.

Someone once said speed is about heart, and there are two kinds of heart: the heart that beats and the heart that beats other people.

Collie has two kinds of heart.

"You saw that in that third play of the Utah State game," Hall said of Collie. "When he got to that guy who kind of got close to him and he stiff-armed him down and, phew, he was gone. That shows how strong he is. He's a guy we can throw a deep ball to, a guy we can throw a long post to, and he'll go get it."

Hall concluded, "It's just different when you have pads on. You can be a track guy and be really fast, but when you put pads on, guys run past you. It's just a different kind of speed. Whatever it is, Austin has it."

Collie said he's taken it to heart to run precise routes — that by doing so, it enables him to get an advantage on the field.

"Definitely, that is something I pay attention to. It's something coach Higgins harps on a lot is taking different angles on the defensive backs, pushing at them with different leverage, and that's how we get open by running good routes," Collie said.

"That is why Jerry Rice was so good in the NFL. He worked angles, got leverage and got edges on people, and that made all the difference in the world for him. It's all it really takes."

Collie remains BYU's best kick-return man, even if that has not been his duty this season. A year ago, Collie had 237 yards in kickoff returns against Tulsa, and his 366 all-purpose yards against the Golden Hurricane broke a 35-year-old BYU record previously held by Pete Van Valkenburg. It was also an MWC all-purpose yards record.

A year ago, Collie had 109 and 126 receiving yards against TCU and Utah — two of the league's top secondary talents.

His seven TD catches led the league a year ago, and he currently has seven this season with seven, and possibly eight more games to play. He has a three-game 100-yard receiving streak.

Still, that day he was timed last summer sticks in his craw.