Chris Collier (born March 24, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Nassau Lions,

Wagner Seahawks The Wagner Seahawks are composed of 23 teams representing Wagner College in intercollegiate athletics. Sports sponsored for both men and women are basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field (both indoor and outdoor, which ...

and

Lock Haven Bald Eagles The Lock Haven Bald Eagles are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate sports teams of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. LHU participates in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NC ...

Early life

Collier was born on March 24, 2000, and grew up in

Lawrence, Nassau County, New York Lawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 6,483. The Village of Lawrence is in the southwestern corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border wit ...

. He started playing

at age six and attended Lawrence High School where he played

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he helped Lawrence compile a record of 10–2 while running for over 1,800 yards and 25

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. However, he received little attention as a college recruit due to having suffered a knee injury the year prior, which caused most schools to lose interest. He enrolled at

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a Public college, public community college in the East Garden City, New York, East Garden City section of Uniondale, New York, Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), N ...

to play

College career

Collier saw limited playing time in his two seasons with Nassau, where he was a fourth-string running back. He totaled 78 rushing yards as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2018 and 270 rushing yards with a

in 2019; he also caught five receiving touchdowns in 2019. In 16 total games played for Nassau, he ran for 348 yards, had 184 receiving yards and scored six touchdowns. Collier had an offer to continue his college football career with the

NCAA Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

and transferred there in 2020. He ran for 83 yards in two games during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-shortened spring 2021 season and ran for 168 yards in six games during the fall 2021 season. However, he battled

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s early during his time at Wagner, at one point having sustained three in a six-game span. He ran for 86 yards in three games during the 2022 season and then transferred to the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

for the 2023 season. Collier had a breakout season with the Bald Eagles in 2023, playing 11 games while running for 1,393 yards and 12 touchdowns and recording 22 receptions for 238 yards and three touchdowns. He helped Lock Haven to its best season since 1982 and broke the school's all-time single-season rushing yards record, receiving numerous honors including being a nominee for the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harl ...

as the best player in the NCAA Division II. He was a three-time conference player of the week and was named first-team All-

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

(PSAC), first-team Division II

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, D2CCA second-team All-Region, to the DII Elite 100 team and was named the PSAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Collier impressed at his

pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, with a 4.48-second

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

and a 6.78

three-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...

, each being better than any running back at the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. After going unselected in the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

, he signed with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, being given a three-year, $2.8 million contract. In preseason, he saw action as a running back and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

, recording 28 rushes for 104 yards and two receptions. He was waived by the Ravens on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the following day. He was elevated to the active roster for the team's Week 3 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and made his NFL debut in the 28–25 win, appearing on one

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

snap. He became only the third Lock Haven alumni ever to play in the NFL, as well as the first since 1987. Collier was elevated a second time for Week 4 and a third time for Week 5. He saw no action in Week 4 against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, but then appeared on 11 special teams snaps in Week 5 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and returned two kickoffs for 22 yards.

Las Vegas Raiders

On November 20, 2024, Collier signed with the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 18.

References

External links

Las Vegas Raiders bioLock Haven Bald Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Chris 2000 births Living people American football running backs Players of American football from Nassau County, New York Lawrence High School (Cedarhurst, New York) alumni Nassau Lions football players Wagner Seahawks football players Lock Haven Bald Eagles football players Baltimore Ravens players Las Vegas Raiders players