Oregon State WR enters not guilty plea to assault charge on day he's dismissed
Oregon State wide receiver Seth Collins was dismissed from the team on Thursday, the same day he entered a not guilty plea regarding a fourth-degree assault charge against him.
Collins, who started his career as a quarterback for the Beavers, had 12 catches in three games with the team in 2017. Collins missed the first three games of the season, played in three, and then missed the final six.
He’s charged regarding an alleged incident that happened at a party on the morning of Oct. 8. A woman came to police later that afternoon and said she had been struck in the face. Corvallis Police also noted she had a busted lip.
Collins’ attorney told the Oregonian that Collins was simply trying to intervene in an altercation where the woman was not involved and “was trying to help someone else.” From the Oregonian:
A university source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident, said Collins took [Makaela] Martinez’s phone as she recorded the incident on video. Martinez is not enrolled at Oregon State, according to the school’s online directory.
The incident came the day after Collins played what turned out to be his final game with Oregon State. Nine days later, the school said its top slot receiver would be out indefinitely with an unspecified health issue.
OSU athletic department spokesman Steve Fenk said the timing of Collins’ absence and the date of the alleged assault were coincidental. Fenk said the athletic department on Nov. 21 suspended Collins indefinitely from all football activities.
Collins was served with his assault citation less than a week after his suspension, which wasn’t announced at the time.
Collins threw for 935 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman in 2015. He moved to receiver in 2016, where he had 36 catches for 418 yards as a sophomore. He was hospitalized in November of 2016 with what the school said was an illness and missed the final two games of the season. People connected to the program told the Oregonian that Collins’ health issue in 2017 was mononucleosis.
He played the 2016 season after announcing he was going to transfer to Northern Illinois in January of that year because of the position switch. If he finds another school in 2018, he’ll have a season of eligibility left.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
