Second-year BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill bristled a little bit last March when a reporter suggested during spring football camp that the former Weber State head coach was working extra hard to get some of his former players in Ogden to Provo.
“No, I am not prioritizing that,” Hill said. “Absolutely not.”
But you can’t blame Weber State faithful for wondering what’s going on, after cornerbacks Eddie Heckard and Kam Garrett followed Hill to BYU a year ago and linebacker Jack Kelly and cornerback Marque Collins arrived before spring ball this year. BYU redshirt senior defensive end Logan Lutui also started his career at Weber State.
“Just so everyone is straight, I can’t talk to them, can’t contact them (until they are in the transfer portal),” Hill said on March 4. “If the right guys go in the portal and they are getting looks elsewhere, then I have looked at the right guys. … We are going to bring the right fit in here for us.”
Flash forward to August. Former Wildcats Kelly and Collins are drawing rave reviews in preseason training camp. Kelly almost certainly will be a starting linebacker, while the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Collins is in an intense position battle with Mory Bamba, Evan Johnson, Marcus McKenzie, Jayden Dunlap and freshmen Tre Alexander and Jonathan Kabeya to be the starting corner opposite Jakob Robinson.
“Well, there is going to be a battle, for sure. Mory (Bamba) had a phenomenal summer. Evan Johnson really stepped up, and he has played really good the last few days,” Hill said. “There is some talent in that group, Marque Collins has done some good things. Marcus McKenzie is one that has played for us. We need those guys to continue to step up and separate who is going to be the second, third, fourth corner. But I like the group.”
Collins becomes the elder statesman in the group, having been at Weber State for six seasons. He appeared in 46 games from 2018 to 2023, before suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the 2023 season. The Sacramento native made 100 tackles, 19 pass breakups and five interceptions in his career and was honorable mention All-Big Sky in 2021.
In March, Hill said Collins is a “dang good mix” of Heckard and Garrett, although Collins didn’t participate in spring drills as he recovered from the knee injury.
“He’s got athleticism, physicality and ball skills,” Hill said.
Monday, Collins said he is “fully healed now, ready to go,” and sitting out in the spring was just a precaution.
“Five practices in, I feel pretty good,” he said. “Obviously it is still early in camp, so I have a lot of polishing up to do, coming off the injury. Just getting used to formations, getting confident again. That is where I am at on Day Five.”
From Sacramento to BYU, via Weber State
Collins grew up in Elk Grove, not far from Sacramento, and prepped at Cosumnes Oaks High. He earned all-conference honors on offense and defense and was his league’s Utility Player of the Year. However, Weber State was his only offer out of high school. Former Weber State star Taron Johnson, now with the Buffalo Bills, is also from Sacramento and told the Weber State coaching staff to recruit the all-around athlete.
“So I went up there and switched from receiver to corner, and the rest is history,” Collins said.
After his knee injury, he made the decision to jump in the transfer portal and give a seventh season of college football a try.
“I loved Weber State. They gave me everything they could, and I gave them everything I had,” he said. “I felt like it was time to go and see what was out there. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. It was kind of a leap of faith.”
He was hoping that Hill and BYU would bite, and sure enough, the Cougars did.
“I got that call, and there were no second thoughts about it,” he said. “Eddie and Kam loved it (at BYU). I wanted to come up here and stay in Utah. I love Utah. I love coach Hill’s defense.”
It is pronounced: Mark
Collins says that not a day goes by when someone doesn’t call him Marky, because of the way his first name is spelled (Marque). It is actually pronounced Mark.
“I blame my parents for that. I tell them every day I don’t know why they made it that complicated. But for the record, it is (pronounced) Mark,” he said. “Just spelled a little crazy. I don’t know where it came from. I think they were just trying to be different.”
As for being the latest addition from the Weber State pipeline, Collins says he has some big shoes to fill. Heckard was known for being a physical corner, while Garrett was more of a technician.
“I feel like I am a combination of both,” he said. “I can show up in the run game, I can tackle fairly well. I am a mixture of both of them, so it is a good fit.”