Seth Collins

Oregon State WR Seth Collins speaks with reporters during Beavers football media day at Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. Photo by Sean Meagher/Staff

CORVALLIS -- Seth Collins leaned back in his chair at a table on the club level of Reser Stadium, donning a black uniform with a new number -- 22 -- across his chest.

He smiled. He thoughtfully answered every question at Oregon State's preseason media day before fall camp begins Friday in Bend.

He looked at ease while publicly explaining for the first time why he opted to stay in Corvallis to play a multi-dimensional offensive role for the Beavers rather than transfer to Northern Illinois to play quarterback.

"As a kid, you always dream and you dream big," Collins said. "And when you do something growing up, that's what you want to do. So in my head, I wanted to play quarterback.

"But in the big picture, I love this place and I love the role that I'm put in and the things that I can contribute to and how I can do it."

Much has happened since this time last year, when the media peppered Collins with questions for the first time as a college football player.

He was the true freshman battling for the starting quarterback job in the Beavers' new-look spread offense, a position he seized early on in the season. While his electrifying athleticism -- he finished the season with a team-high 580 rushing yards and eight touchdowns -- wowed spectators, his spotty passing accuracy (936 yards, six touchdowns, four interceptions) as OSU's losses mounted during Pac-12 play eventually led to him sharing snaps with the since-departed Nick Mitchell in an October game against Colorado.

Then came the "freak" hyperextended knee sustained while backpedaling during a practice that forced him to miss four games, before he returned for the Civil War in the "slash" role that saw him tally three rushing touchdowns, 45 passing yards and multiple snaps at receiver. That performance left co-offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven confident that Collins could morph into one of the Pac-12's "elite" offensive players.

But in late January, OSU announced Collins intended to transfer. Soon after, Northern Illinois welcomed Collins to its program via social media and a press release after he signed a non-binding financial aid agreement with the program.

When OSU spring practice arrived in late March, however, Collins watched through a fence as the Beavers hit the field while he finished up his academic work in the winter quarter. He'd ask about what was new with the program when he saw his former teammates in class. He thought about his sister Devin, a sprinter for the Beavers' track and field team, his girlfriend and OSU's tight-knit community. His palpable competitive fire -- one of his trademark attributes -- brewed inside once again.

He wanted to stay in Corvallis.

"It's kind of hard to leave friendships and leave something that you know so well," Collins said. "That's really what it came down to -- I know I can thrive in this environment."

Teammates began hearing rumblings through the grapevine -- and from Collins himself -- that he was thinking about trying to re-join the program. Collins sat down with coach Gary Andersen, who presented the idea to the Beavers' captains and leadership committee. When those players gave the go-ahead, Collins went through OSU's winter conditioning program alone rather than participate in the final spring practice sessions, a task he called challenging but motivating.

It's not exactly common for a player to orchestrate such an about-face. Yet Collins immediately felt welcomed back by teammates at summer workouts. When OSU recently released a fall camp depth chart, Collins appeared at both the "Z" and "X" receiver positions and at the new, versatile "R" back spot.

"When he got a chance to come back, it was like he never left," receiver Victor Bolden said.

Collins describes his role as "primarily a receiver," where he's worked diligently this summer on using his long body to get off press coverage at the line of scrimmage and on coming in and out of breaks at a higher speed. But he'll also be the centerpiece of special packages, where he'll line up in the backfield to either run or throw the ball.

For an offense that ranked 115th nationally in scoring last season at 19 points per game, coaches hope Collins can quickly develop into a versatile and explosive weapon.

"There's gonna be some growing pains with Seth," inside receivers coach Dave Baldwin said. "But I think on the other side of the window, when that (opponent) looks at us, they'll say, 'Oh crap, he's in the game. Is he in motion? Will he carry the ball? Is he a receiver? If they throw the ball out to him (on the perimeter), will he throw the ball?'

"They gotta look at a different aspect of what Seth Collins can do, and I think that helps us as an offense."

Collins now acknowledges that at this time last year, he was nervous about facing the media day scrum.

But Tuesday, he swiftly moved from a group of print reporters to live radio segments to taped television interviews. He grinned as he entertained a question about the possibility that he could record a rushing, receiving and passing touchdown in the same game.

Collins is not competing for the Beavers' starting quarterback job in 2016. Yet he said he feels "10 times more excited" than last year to begin fall camp.

That's because he's at ease in his new role in the program he could not bring himself to leave.

"Life can be a roller coaster sometimes," Collins said. "I just realized that this is the place for me. I don't really want to be anywhere else, and that's proven with me sitting here talking to (reporters). I'm excited about being here ...

"I gotta be me. I'm just ready for the season. I know what I can do on the field. I know what I am. I know what I'm not. I'm cool with me."

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