Lower Richland’s Larry Collins out to prove himself against the best in the Carolinas

Larry Collins couldn’t wait to be back on the practice field Monday at Spartanburg High.

It’d been more than two months since the Lower Richland receiver was on the field since suffering a season-ending knee injury against Dreher on Oct. 2. But Collins returned to action as the South Carolina squad began preparations for Saturday’s 79^th annual Shrine Bowl.

“It felt good coming out here and playing against good competition,” Collins said.

Collins said he was a little rusty at first, but seemed to get better as the first practice went along. The second practice of the day was moved indoors after heavy rain fell in the Upstate.

Before the injury, Collins was on his way to a big year for the Diamond Hornets, who finished 2-8 this season. He had 37 catches for 647 yards and 10 touchdowns in a little over four games until he sprained his MCL.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Collins said he rehabbed the injury on and off for the past eight weeks and targeted the Shrine Bowl for his return date.

“I know he is happy that he got a chance to show them who Larry Collins is, and so that the whole state can see who he is,” Lower Richland assistant coach Tymere Zimmerman said. “With the injury, everyone might have forgotten about him. This is big for him to be out there with the elite players in South Carolina.”

Zimmerman, a former Shrine Bowl receiver at Marlboro County who went on to a hall of fame career at Newberry College, said he sees a lot of him in Collins at this stage of his career. The two worked together the last three weeks on route running and getting Collins’ game sharp for the Shrine Bowl.

“I feel like he is better now than in the season,” Zimmerman said. “He goes up and gets the football like nobody I have seen in the state in a long time. Larry is a physical and powerful and hard to tackle him.”

The injury didn’t hamper Collins’ recruiting as he continues to draw interest with Wake Forest, Louisville, East Carolina and South Carolina on the top of the list. The Gamecocks are back in the mix after Will Muschamp took over last week and reached out to him.

Collins will take an official visit to Wake Forest on Jan. 22, with possible visits planned to Louisville and ECU next month. He is going to take an unofficial to USC.

“I’m going to sit down, gather everything and take it from there,” Collins said.

Zimmerman thinks wherever Collins ends up he will have an immediate impact.

“He is a Division I player and I hope he goes to the right school,” Zimmerman said. “To me, he is going to be a special kid in college. He still works hard and he is running routes and getting better.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 7:19 PM.