Ole Miss linebacker Raymond Collins
Gulfport, Miss., native Raymond Collins is ready to leave his mark on the Ole Miss football program. The 6-2, 235-pound linebacker says he’s ready to challenge for a starting position once spring practice opens in just a few weeks.
“My expectations are to come in this spring and just being a leader,” Collins told OleMiss365.com. “I’m real familiar with the playbook. Being one of the older guys on the roster now, I have to be a leader. I have to show all the newcomers how to work and how to come to work every day. I’m going for the highest. We strove for the highest around here.”
Collins, who signed with Ole Miss out of Jones College, played sparingly in 2024 and was redshirted. He played in 10 games in 2025 in which Ole Miss finished ranked No. 3 in the national polls, won a record 13 games and reached the national semifinals in th Fiesta Bowl.
Collins certainly has developed the body of a middle linebacker, but he could play anywhere within the corps.
“They could play me anywhere. The way the linebacking situation works out it’s interchangeable. It’s really the same position regardless. It really doesn’t matter when you’re on the field,” he said of his responsibilities.”
Collins and the Rebels should be preseason favorites to reach the College Football Playoffs once again this year. Ole Miss returns a great battery on offense, including preseason Heisman candidates Trinidad Chambliss (quarterback) and Kewan Lacy (running back).
The Ole Miss defense is also expected to be salty, he said.
Where do the Rebels think they ought to be preseason ranked?
“I don’t want to be worried about it,” Collins related. “We don’t too much worry about rankings around here, because at the end of the day the rankings don’t mean nothing, especially in the preseason. Last year, I don’t think we were even in the top 10 and we finished in the top five. We don’t too much worry about rankings. Wherever they out us at, that’s where we’re going to start at, and we’re going to work our way up.”
RADIO RAY’S
Collins will host a podcast exclusively on OleMiss365, beginning in just a few weeks. The weekly show will be hosted by Collins and he will bring different guests from the Ole Miss roster on to give an inside take of what is happening within the Rebel football program.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Collins. “It’s a way to out my brand out there and showcase me and who I am as a person. It’s for the fans to know who I am and to know the guests that I have on. Essentially, it’s for the fans. It will give the a glimpse inside and the opportunity to get to know me and my teammates. Yes, we’re going to bring them inside, but we also want to let them know who we are off the field.”
Raymond Collins with Egg Bowl Trophy
HAPPY TO BE A REBEL
We’ve been covering Collins’ career since he was turning heads as the nation’s No. 1 JUCO linebacker. His recruiting battle was a war.
How does he believe his decision to come to Oxford has worked out?
“It was really a no-brainer,” Collins explained. “I’m just really excited being a part of an SEC program. I’m a Mississippi guy, I’m homegrown. I’m getting to do things at this university that nobody else has done. Being a Mississippi guy, there’s just pride with it. People say we don’t have the best talent around here, but we get to showcase it every Saturday.”