Since transferring from Mississippi State in May 2023, Penn State football cornerback Audavion Collins has slowly progressed into a top dog within the program’s defense.

The Covington, Georgia native appeared in just five games during his first season in Happy Valley, but saw consistent playing time just a year later, logging action in all 16 games during Penn State’s 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal run. Collins would go on to start all 13 games in 2025, racking up 47 total tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, and three pass breakups.

The cornerback believes his darn-near linear progress comes from his willingness to learn from others, even early on when he wasn’t playing heavy snap counts.

“I personally tried to soak in the knowledge and stuff like that, so I know when my time came, I’m gonna be ready for my moment. And when my time came, I was ready for the moment,” Collins said Wednesday.

Collins opted to return to Penn State for his final year of college football, allowing him to pick up where he left off as a full-time starter. Now, after an offseason he claims was his best ever, Collins once again finds himself at the top of the depth chart, earning the respect of players and coaches alike through his dominant camp performance.

“AC is an arch-nemesis of mine,” offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said jokingly. “That guy shows up every day in practice, and he makes throwing the football really hard. One of the most competitive guys that I’ve ever got to go against on the perimeter.”

One of Collins’ most special traits is his top-end speed. He posted a picture of his 4.31-second 40-yard dash time back in the spring of 2025. It’s safe to assume Collins has only gotten faster since then, being one of two players on the roster this offseason to clock in at over 23 miles per hour during training.

The other player? That would be receiver Brett Eskildsen, who Collins says he enjoys competing with in practice due to that “speed on speed” element.

When asked who’s faster, Collins kept his answer short.

“Me, for sure,” he said, grinning.

That horsepower also gives Collins the ability to help the special teams unit in punt coverage as a gunner. It’s not a coincidence that Matt Campbell believes punt coverage is one of the team’s greatest areas of strength.

“AC Collins, Zion Tracy. Those were some early names of guys that have had elite reps covering punts and covering the kicks,” Campbell said Tuesday.

Speed is undoubtedly dangerous on the football field, but Collins’ abilities transcend simple quickness.

“He’s really talented,” starting quarterback Rocco Becht said of Collins. “I would say he’s really good at playing in between two different routes, whether it’s a high-low out to the field, a high-low to the boundary. He’s really good at not reading our eyes and keeping track of the two routes. So that’s definitely been a struggle in practice.”

Becht is one of the most seasoned quarterbacks in the nation, logging 39 starts in his four seasons with Iowa State. As the winningest active signal caller in the country, he’s been as successful as anybody against many defenders and coverage styles, so Collins’ ability to consistently pester the Nittany Lion offense serves as a solid litmus test heading into 2026.

Similarly, veteran receiver Chase Sowell praised Collins’ football IQ and believes that going up against him has created an “iron sharpens iron” environment.

“On camp day, like, two or something, I noticed that one of our plays, he had read it out and there was something that he saw that like just made him trigger and see something in our offense,” Sowell said. “It kind of made me think like, ‘Oh yeah, you know what’s going on. You’ve been around a lot of football.'”

Along with his blazing speed, twitchy anticipation in coverage, and ultra-developed feel for the game, Collins, who stands at 5’11 and weighs 183 pounds, plays with a physical, downhill mentality.

It’s rare for cornerbacks to enjoy battling the ball carrier, but Collins has a love for those matchups. The development of that mindset stems from growing up with his brothers, who always pushed him to be aggressive.

“I’m gonna be a dog,” he said. “By any means, I’m gonna trust my instinct and just go get it.”

Just days out from the beginning of his final college football campaign, Collins shared that his individual season goal is not only to be the best corner he can be, but also the best corner in the entire nation.

That’s no easy feat, but when you have the combination of experience, work ethic, elite traits, and downright dog mentality that Collins has, it’s certainly possible.