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ACC Bound
Collins
La Plata’s Collins, Waldorf’s Commissiong commit to D-I schools
By AJ MASON
Staff writer
Six senior athletes from Bishop McNamara High School in Prince George’s County are heading to play Division I football in the fall of 2013, four of them will be in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Two local standouts who are headed to the ACC are Milan Collins and Darius Commissiong, who recently committed to the University of Maryland, College Park and Georgia Tech programs, respectively.
“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to play Division I football at the next level,” said Collins, who has been a starter every year at quarterback for the Mustangs under head coach Bryce Bevill.
Collins brings a lot of intangibles and leadership qualities, has a physical presence and can even can player cornerback on defense.
Collins, a La Plata resident, mentioned what led to his decision of choosing to play with the Terrapins.
“The school was close to home where I can see my family and see my younger siblings play sports, I love them so much,” said Collins, who has brother and a sister that are 14 and 12 years old, respectively. “I’m definitely excited about going to Maryland, but now that the recruiting process is over, I still have some unfinished business at McNamara and that helping our team win a WCAC championship. I look forward to going to the next level.”
Collins noted that with the recruiting process done he can now just concentrate on the season at hand.
“It does take a lot of pressure off of me knowing what school that I’m going to,” said Collins, who wants to be an anesthesiologist after college. “I’ve committed and now I want to be the best player that I can be and finish my high school career off strong.”
Commissiong, who was recruited as a defensive end and defensive tackle, is happy to be going to Atlanta next fall.
“I’m happy I can’t wait to go to college and compete,” said Commissiong, who will major in business management. “The academics are great there and the football program is top of the line.”
He added, “One reason that I chose Georgia Tech was because they stressed the balance of academics first and athletics second. I had a good relationship with the coaching staff. Me and Milan will get to play each other every year since we are in the same conference.”
Though a quarterback at the high school level, Collins was recruited as a free safety next fall. At 6-foot-2 200 pounds, he will have a promising future under Maryland head coach Randy Edsall.
“Being able to network with the coaching staff was good, especially Coach Edsall they are great men,” said the 17-year old Collins.
Commissiong, a Waldorf resident who is 6-3 and 295 pounds, received other Division I offers from Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State, and Boston College. With his size and strength, he will be a major impact for the Yellow Jackets and head coach Paul Johnson.
“From communicating with the coaching staff, if I do what I’m supposed to do and perform in practice, learn the playbook, then I will play right away.” Commissiong said.
Collins, who grew up in Louisiana, moved to Maryland when Hurricane Katrina hit, He always was a LSU fan, but also had a huge interest in the Maryland program when he moved here.
“Since I lived here, I always wanted to play for Maryland if I got the opportunity,” Collins said. “It’s a blessing to be going to College Park.”
As the senior seasons for both Division I prospects rolls on, there are a lot of expectations.
Personally we want to win a championship,” Commissiong said. “We are senior heavy and we have a good mix of juniors. We have a lot of experience, which will help a lot this season.”
Collins added: “It would be nice to win a title, it’s all gone take hard work and us coming together every game and practice.”
McNamara is currently 2-1 this season in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
ajmason@somdnews.com