By Cody Porter

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It wasn’t all roses, sunshine and pretty Kentucky women for UK’s idyllic and zealous star running back Sonny Collins.

Discovering his path back home took some self exploration after a record-setting career turned devastating with implications of his involvement in a local murder.

Before hitting that bump in the road, though, the Madisonville, Ky., native found his direction with knowledge of local ties to Lexington.

Football head coach John Ray didn’t know it yet, but the program’s soon-to-be exemplary of excellence came to UK because of former basketball great Frank Ramsey.

If not for him, a Cat from two decades later, Moe Williams, would have UK records for most rushing yards and touchdowns in a career.

Reflection of a UK icon

Having known Ramsey was able to find success at UK and as a professional athlete “was a reflection in knowing that I had the opportunity to attend the University of Kentucky as well,” Collins said.

He said he understood the Cats weren’t a football powerhouse, but it was an opportunity for him to be a part of something that could work its way toward winning an SEC or national championship.

“I felt like it was the best thing for me to do even though I did have schools from all around the country (inquiring). From the No. 1 team at the top, the No. 1 school in the nation, USC (University of Southern California), Ohio State, all of them,” he said. “They were knocking on my door consistently, and coach Bear Bryant from the University of Alabama definitely wanted me to come to Alabama.”

While Collins said it was gratifying and an honor to have those schools showing interest, “when Kentucky came knocking on my door, I really didn’t think twice about it.”

Perfect days

His enthusiasm for 1972 couldn’t be understated. For Collins, his freshman season at UK, simply put, was “a great year.”

When discussing that season he echoed those sentiments on numerous occasions.

The fans, student body, faculty and team — everyone just seemed to be on the right page, Collins said.

“Every day seemed like sunshine and hearing birds and you know, it was just perfect days, perfect days.”

In his lone season playing under Ray, Collins led the team in carries and rushing yards while splitting time with veterans Gary Knutson and Doug Kotar.

“It was a great memory for me from the very beginning of 1972,” Collins said.

Having grown up not far from the university and loving the area, Collins said his desire to contribute to the program “reflected in my accomplishments as an athlete.”

His fondness for the program had him already familiar with the magnitude of what he was getting into, but it was when fans from afar began to contact him, that he truly realized what he was a part of.

“I remember receiving letters at that time from people from all around the country,” he said. “I recall letters I received from military people that were stationed in Europe and over in the Asian countries. I thought that was

interesting.”

Knowing that the fans cared enough to try to correspond with the then 19 year old motivated him, he said.

“I knew I had taken on something that was another level in my life, in this sport,” Collins said. “I knew I had to prepare for it mentally, physically and emotionally.”

Knowing that UK wasn’t a powerhouse, Collins said he volunteered himself to be a recruiter to Coach Ray.

Before Collins could help, Ray left the program after a slew of sub-.500 seasons and the reigns were handed over to Fran Curci, a one-time quarterback with a track record full of victories while coaching in Florida.

The same offer was then put on the table for Curci.

“I did my part and it paid off,” Collins said.

That payoff brought in Art Still, Derrick Ramsey and Jim Kovach, all of which ended careers at UK with their weight in awards.

“We ended up with some really talented athletes and I knew we were going to be very special,” Collins said. “I’m telling you, they were phenomenal, those boys were phenomenal. They were way ahead of their time. If those guys were

able to play today, they are just as good as the athletes that we have now. They were just that far ahead of their time.”

And while he didn’t know how soon it would take them to develop, he said he was hoping it would turn over quickly so that he could be a part of it.

Sonny being Sonny

Before he could help them get their success, the 1973 season was made into Sonny Collins’ personal highlight reel.

In righting the ship for Curci’s inaugural season, Collins rushed for 1,213 yards, good enough to set UK’s record for most rushing yards in a season.

Although he was provided help, Collins wanted to be — and was — a leader for the team.

“Basically every day I was working out,” he said. “If I wasn’t in the weight room or running track with the track team, it was either because it was a holiday or I had an engagement to attend.”

As he stated, there was a downfall to that attitude — academics, which resulted in him not graduating on time.

“I didn’t take my studies as serious as I should have because I wasn’t very good at multitasking, if you will,” he said. “I did enough as a student to stay and continue to play the sport.”

Collins’ focus on the sport is something he believes had he went elsewhere would have paid its dues via a Heisman Trophy Award.

“There was no doubt if I had went to maybe, you know, a school like USC or Ohio State or Alabama, I would have won Heisman because of my work ethic,” he said.

Over time the work ethic he displayed began to wear off on his teammates.

In 1974 the Cats posted their first winning record in nine years.

According to Collins, his teammates began to follow him to whatever type of workout he was attempting.

“I worked so hard and so fierce all season till the game was easy,” Collins said. “And when the guys saw that concept of what I was doing, realized ‘that’s why he runs the ball like that and does this.’ I busted my ass in the offseason. I was in tip-top shape. I could run 25, 30 times straight.”

Though he admitted it took some time to prove that concept to his teammates, “they thought ‘this is why Sonny is being Sonny.’ And it caught on pretty quickly for a few of those guys.

Coming home

“I miss home,” Collins said when asked about life now.

After a short stint in the NFL, the 59-year-old eventually made his way to Fayetteville, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, where he was drafted.

“Although I’m here in Georgia now, and I’ve been living here for a while now, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of my Bluegrass roots,” he said.

Until recently, those roots were severed as the result of a 1975 kidnapping and murder investigation that Collins’ name was involved with as an alibi.

“I did everything I possibly could to stay away,” Collins said.

The investigation is something he said “destroyed” him, partially because his name was being tarnished on a national scale.

“I think it was a shock to the university and the community,” he said. “They didn’t know how to handle it as they should have. At the time I just felt that more had been done to tell (the media), that I had done nothing whatsoever.”

When mentioned by the two involved, former All-American tight end Elmore Stephens and assistant manager John Bishop, Collins’ shining light within the community dimmed, as local and national media learned of the news.

At the time he was highly regarded enough around Lexington that his fans and fellow students “knew that I would never be involved in those kind of things.”

“That was my energy,   the fact that my community was supporting me,” he said. “There wasn’t a place I couldn’t go where I wasn’t welcomed with opened arms. I would go to a restaurant, ‘Hey Sonny, how are you doing?’ We would sit there and talk, have supper, lunch, whatever. I was living the life of Riley and I was protected.”

Still, for Collins, who was trying to bud into an NFL star for the Atlanta Falcons, the questioning was beginning to take a mental toll, something he says is the reason he didn’t excel as a professional.

“I’d get a call from the news media and they say, ‘Sonny you had a great game against San Francisco.’ ‘Thanks.’ ‘Won’t you tell me about that murder incident that happened in Lexington last year?’

“I’d say ‘oh, my God.” “I don’t know nothing about that. I wasn’t involved.”

Collins now reflects on the incident, knowing had he been more mature, he would’ve handled it well enough that it might not have hurt his career in the NFL.

Now rekindling his old flame with the blue and white, Collins makes his way to UK every now and then.

Last season the program had “Sonny Collins Day” to honor the Cats’ all-time leading rusher.

“It was no doubt one of the best highlights of my life because I had never forgotten how supportive the community was for me. It was a great therapy for me,” he said. “I think the ones that were during that time knew I gave my very best — my very, very best, and I wasn’t a bad person.”

Another trip home is on deck, however. Collins said plans are in the works to attend the South Carolina game to honor Fran Curci.

While in town, he hopes to use his motorcycle riding pastime as a chance to give back in raising money for the K Association with help from Harley-Davidson of Lexington.