Damir Collins on Oregon State: 'This Was The Place For Me'

On Friday morning, Oregon State 2021 signee Damir Collins joined RipCityMornings with Nigel Burton, and BeaversEdge.com has the latest on his decision to become a Beaver.

SIGNING DAY RELATED LINKS

There's no question that Jefferson (OR) running back Damir Collins was one of the marquee gems of Oregon State's 2021 recruiting class.

The 5-foot-9, 186-pounder was running backs coach Michael Pitre's top-target in the backfield and he made sure that the Beavers were going to land him.

Collins certainly had options, as he boasted offers from the likes of Arizona State, Boise State, California, Colorado, Maryland, Ole Miss, Nevada, Oregon, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, and Washington State, but in the end, there was only one place that he wanted to call home.

Corvallis.

"I knew Oregon State was going to be the right place for me because it was the best fit," Collins said. "I know this is the best fit for me because I know I can go there and get it started back up again. We can get this program back going again and I know we can."

While Collins certainly considered his options, including those that could have taken him across the country, in the end, he decided that staying close to home is what was best for him.

"Everyone wanted me to go out of state to like Maryland or to a Florida school," Collins said. "It seemed like a lot of people wanted me to go to a bigger school, but I didn't want to hop on the bandwagon. I wanted to go through my process and do what was best for me, and that was Oregon State."

With Jefferson HS kicking off their football season here in the coming months, Collins said that choosing to return to play his senior year after signing was all about the bonds he formed with his teammates.

"It's all about a brotherhood and where I got started," Collins said. "I've got to finish where I started. I've been here for three years, so I might as well finish the fourth with my brothers."

There's no question that the Beavers as a program are extremely excited to get him on campus, and given that head coach Jonathan Smith was beyond excited when talking about him, it's abundantly clear that the Beavers landed a huge difference-maker.

"We are really anxious to see how many different ways we can use him on offense. We want the ball to be in his hands because he's so dynamic," Smith said. "He can carry it, we can use him in the fly sweep, put him at receiver, on special teams, and we feel he's got the talent to do all of that. Really fired up about him."