Braden River defensive back Tyrone Collins commits to Missouri

A serious knee injury heading into his senior year hasn’t held Tyrone Collins up from his collegiate dreams. The Braden River defensive back orally committed to Missouri on Saturday only three months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Collins, who was the Herald’s All-Area Defensive Player of the Year during the fall, has been a fixture of one of Manatee County’s best defenses during each of the past two seasons. He intercepted three passes this past fall, broke up 11 more, scored a defensive touchdown, recorded two sacks and forced two fumbles for the Pirates en route to earning the Player of the Year award this fall. A year earlier when teams were still willing to test him, Collins picked off six passes during the regular season and broke up 21.

He is the second rising senior for Braden River to make a commitment to a Southeastern Conference program this spring. Deshaun Fenwick, a running back and wide receiver, orally committed to South Carolina. Both Collins and Fenwick are considered three-star prospects by 247sports.com’s composite rankings.

Collins is ranked No. 141 among players in Florida and No. 84 among cornerbacks in the country by 247sports’ composite. He had pulled in more than 20 offers, including ones from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Michigan, Indiana, Rutgers, Iowa State, South Florida, Central Florida and Florida Atlantic, although some schools pulled the offers when Collins sustained the injury, which he expects will keep him off the field for his senior season.

“Colleges texting me saying they know I can play and stuff,” Collins told the Herald in March when asked about how he was remaining optimistic following the injury. “It doesn’t really bother me. I need to just keep working hard.”

The Tigers were one of the teams that kept their recruitment of him open, and Collins made his commitment during an unofficial visit to Columbia, Mo., this weekend. He originally had planned to announce a top-five list on Monday.

Collins’ commitment continues a trend of major recruiting news coming out of the Pirates this year. Taylor Upshaw, a three-star end, announced a top-10 list last month, and Fenwick followed his pledge by announcing his intention to early enroll in Columbia, S.C., in order to join the Gamecocks in time for spring practice.

This story was originally published June 3, 2017 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Braden River defensive back Tyrone Collins commits to Missouri."