Collie agrees. "I don't think it will be hard to get back into it. Max and I worked extremely, extremely hard during the off-season and during the summer. We've gotten to the point where we know what each other are thinking. We know what we do in different situations. I definitely think if I were to step back onto the field, we'd pick up right where we left off."

During Collie's absence from drills, BYU has been able to develop other wide receivers, like sophomore Luke Ashworth and freshman O'Neill Chambers. Collie has been impressed by his understudies.

"They're doing well. Luke's done a fantastic job knowing the position, knowing the routes," Collie said. "He just needs to fine- tune some things. I'd say the same thing about O'Neill. He's a great player, very athletic. He needs to fine-tune some things on the offense as far as knowing the plays, and we'll be set. They're both great athletes and great receivers."

Though Collie hasn't been participating in practices, that doesn't mean his presence hasn't been felt.

"He's always over there making jokes," Chambers said of Collie. "He's keeping the same mentality off the field and on the field. With or without him, he's still out there, helping us and working hard with us. He's always messing with the defense, getting in their heads. That's pretty much it and telling the offense, 'Let's go and get better.'"

Not only has Collie been keeping up with his conditioning outside of practice by spending time in the pool and on the treadmill, but he also has kept his skills sharp by staying after practice, catching tennis balls shot out of a machine.

Still, he'd prefer catching footballs.

Following Saturday's scrimmage, Collie was amazed by the efficiency and explosiveness of the Hall-led Cougar offense.

"It's unreal. One of the best in the nation. I stand behind that," he said. "What's so great about it is, we have guys who don't participate as much in these scrimmages, like Dennis (Pitta) and Harvey (Unga), and myself and a few other guys, and we still drive the ball. Even with our second team. We have so much depth and so much talent, that guys can come in here and replace the starting guys. It's a huge benefit to have guys like that. (Running back) J.J. DiLuigi does a fabulous job. (Tight end) Braden Brown is really looking good. (Tight end) Andrew George is one of our top receivers also. It's awesome to see these guys come in and perform."

Collie can't wait to do the same.

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com