The Washington, D.C., metro area is known for producing NFL players.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and former tight ends Vernon Davis and Visanthe Shiancoe are just a few of the many players who have come from the D.C. region.
Morgan State redshirt sophomore running back Jason Collins Jr., a D.C. native and Theodore Roosevelt High School graduate, is still another area player with lofty football dreams. He is one of many Bears from the D.C. area.
“[Morgan State was] showing me the most love coming out of D.C.,” Collins said. “D.C. is a small city for the football teams. I went public school, so I wasn’t getting that much exposure to college, and Morgan … still showed me the love since they first met me. I feel like it was home.”
Collins ran for 634 yards (5.6 per carry) and eight touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He added 17 receptions for 143 yards. He also never fumbled. Collins was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top first-year player in the FCS.
The Preseason MEAC Offensive Player of the Year has loftier goals in mind. Collins wants to break the Morgan single-season rushing record — 1,408 yards on 233 attempts — set by Herb Walker in 2014. Not only does he want to break it, he wants to run for 1,600 yards. He also wants to beat T.J. Stallings’ 2002 single-season rushing touchdown record (19).
Collins also wants to win the Walter Payton Award as the top player in the FCS and become an All-American.
The best part? It could all could happen at the school that took a chance on a 5-foot-9, 200-pound running back out of a public school in D.C.
“What stands out [at Morgan] is the culture here,” Collins said. “We have everybody on the same page. There are no characters. Everybody follows and there are a couple of leaders. … Our coaches — all day, every day — [are there] to remind us about what we want to accomplish and how to accomplish it.”
Morgan offensive coordinator Apollo Wright wants to see Collins achieve his goals. Wright recalled joining the coaching staff in 2024 when Collins was working as a receiver. Wright saw Collins’ ability to move in motion behind the line of scrimmage, cut upfield and show burst.
Wright believed Collins could maximize his talents as a multi-purpose back who had the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and carve up defenses.
“I think he’s a smart football player,” Wright said. “He doesn’t have to do necessarily two or three reps before he gets it down. He has a quick first step. He has a quick burst. He has very good vision. We just talked about how he could catch the ball out of the backfield. I think [with] all those attributes, as long as he continues to grow in football knowledge, he has a shot to do exactly what he wants to do.”
A typical day for Collins features early-morning weight and agility training when everyone else is asleep. He then goes to his team’s morning workouts, followed by film sessions and connecting with his teammates. By the time he gets to practice, he is ready to sharpen his skills against the Bears’ defense.
Collins has eliminated all outside distractions. It’s about his team, his coaches, his goals and nothing else. More than anything else, he’s appreciative of his offensive line. He likes to hide behind his line and let them push the pile. When the dust clears, he’s in the end zone.
Morgan offensive line coach Richard Reddix has worked with plenty of running backs in the past and enjoys watching Collins do his thing.
“He doesn’t complain about anything — if he gets hit in the backfield or he goes 64 yards for a touchdown,” Reddix said. “He’s just giving them love and he’s never complaining. You’ve got to get on your block. He’s just like, ‘All right, guys, let’s go let’s go to work.’ And he makes your job pretty easy because his abilities, his vision. He doesn’t need a lot of space. He’s a real patient guy while running the ball. He knows how to … hide behind some guys and once he sees daylight, he takes off.”
Morgan went 6-6 overall and 3-2 in MEAC play in 2024. The Bears opened the 2025 season at South Alabama on Aug. 30 and host local rival Towson for their home opener on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.
Morgan will try to take a step forward on the offensive side of the ball after scoring 24.3 points per game in 2024. Collins’ emergence as a do-it-all back should aid a Bears rushing attack that ranked third in the MEAC a year ago.
Wright is excited to see what the standout back can do with a full year at the position.
“He’s very important to our offense,” Wright said. “We plan to do a lot of things with him. He kind of burst onto the scene a little bit last year. He was a receiver when I first got here last year and he started showing flashes. He’s a guy that you know you want to try to get the ball to every which way. We plan on trying to see how much he can put on his plate.”
Photo Credit: Christopher Thompson
Issue 294: August / September 2025
Originally published Aug. 13, 2025