College football has always been a sport held by two sides of the spectrum. On one side are the young athletes, who stand at the dawn of their careers with their lives ahead of them. But what sometimes goes unnoticed is the pillars these athletes stand on. They are supported by coaches and staff with way more experience than their pupils’ age. Today marked a day when Boise State lost one of its pillars.

Defensive senior analyst and one of the Broncos’ best defensive minds, Ron Collins, tragically passed away this Tuesday. Boise State announced a press release on Thursday, mentioning that Collins had been away from the team for the majority of the 2024 season, battling illness. 

The heartbreaking news shocked the Boise State football community. Collins was a part of the Broncos in two separate stints. His coaching journey spanned eight seasons in total, first as defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2005, where his units won four WAC championships, and most recently as a senior analyst since 2022. Broncos’ Head Coach Spencer Danielson took to X and posted, “RC was an elite Husband, Father, Coach, and Friend. Love you, brother. We will see you again.” 

Roy’s pupils were among the nation’s best. In 2024, his squad finished 2nd in interceptions and 5th in turnovers. After returning to Boise in 2022 as an analyst, Collins was promoted to assistant coach under Danielson last season and played a major role in their Mountain West championship and College Football Playoff appearance. Collins’ athletic prowess was well known. Back in his college days, he was a multi-sport athlete who did track, wrestling, and football. At the time of his graduation, he was the captain of Washington State.

This season, the Broncos will step on the gridiron without one of their beloved coaches. But Collins’ legacy will be reflected in every snap, every sack, and every interception. His learnings are embedded into the fabric of the Boise State football program. As the Broncos continue their journey under Danielson, they’ll have one more reason to win this season. They’ll be playing for RC.

The man who built Ohio’s defense from the ground up 

The film room in Peden Stadium will feel different this season. The seat where Ron Collins used to sit will sit empty. Ohio football lost the architect who turned their defense into something opponents dreaded. When Collins arrived in 2011, Ohio’s linebackers were good. When he left a decade later, they were legendary. Guys like Quentin Poling came in as three-star prospects and left as All-MAC terrors because Collins saw things in players that they didn’t see in themselves. 

Ohio’s former Head Coach Frank Solich said, “In the decade he was in Athens, Ron added tremendous value to our program both on and off the field. The defense’s consistently strong performance, as well as the young men who were a part of the program, spoke to the kind of coach and man he was.” Collins transformed the Bobcats’ defense. In 2016, Ohio linebackers boasted 337 tackles and were one of the top defenses in the country. 

The lights will still shine on Peden Stadium this fall, but there’ll be a quiet absence where Ron Collins used to stand. All-MAC players, a defense that made running backs think twice, one of the best defenses in the country, but the real impact? It’s the players who knew him who are still remembering him. And that kind of legacy doesn’t fade when the lights go out; it lives on in every linebacker who steps on that field knowing exactly how Collins would want him to play. Tough. Smart. Relentless. Just like the coach who made Ohio football something to be feared.