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MARYVILLE, Mo. — The legendary toughness of Northwest Missouri State senior Collin Bevins has been, and will continue to be, the hub of the Bearcat defense.
The Creston High School graduate has generated excitement noteworthy to NFL scouts across the country.
The defensive end’s gritty attitude and tenacious pursuit was established in a small town of less than 8,000 where his athletic career ended with not a football, but a wrestling state championship around his waist.
“I’ve been wrestling since I could walk,” Bevins said. “It’s kind of a religion around there. You live and breathe wrestling season in the winter.”
Since then, Bevins has been rewarded with national titles as a Northwest Bearcat in 2013 and 2015.
Career marks
Bevins is in a class of his own. The senior has placed himself among some of the greatest defensive players in Northwest Bearcat history. Those legends including Matt Longacre and Dave Tollefson. Statistically, Bevins joins these two Bearcat giants in career sacks.
With 2.5 tackles for loss in a 45-21 victory over Missouri Southern, Bevins became the program’s all-time leader in tackles for loss with 47.5. In that game he had five total tackles and one quarterback sack.
While Longacre is ranked No. 1 on the sacks list, Bevins is hot on his trail climbing the chart at No. 3 and only 3.5 sacks separate them.
“Being mentioned in the same sentence is an honor to me,” Bevins said. “I still look up to (Longacre) and watch film of him every day. It’s special to me.”
In 2005 Tollefson, a two-time super bowl champion with the the New York Giants, broke the single season sack record at Northwest. Snatching the title away was Longacre, who set it in 2013.
In 2015 Bevins surpassed them both, etching his name at the top of the list with 15.5 sacks.
Bevin’s name is listed multiple times throughout the Northwest record books, including tackles for loss (47.5) and sacks (27). In 2015 Bevins set a single season record in tackles for loss with 26.5, breaking a record set by Charlie White in 1981.
The Little All-American first-team selection has taken his game to a whole new level. A level at which some players will never reach.
“He’s calling his own games,” head coach Adam Dorrel said.
Piloting the defensive line has been something Bevins prides himself in. The veteran now must usher in the new era of Bearcat defensive lineman. One of the critical lessons Bevins learned is to come out of the gates hungry.
“We like to put pressure on teams early,” Bevins said. “It will make it a lot easier for us to come out, do what we do and fly around out there.”
Successful transition
The second team All-American was not always a Northwest Bearcat. His first career of college athletics began as a redshirt freshman at Iowa State. Not feeling at home, Bevins transferred in hopes to follow the footsteps of his family.
“Collin has a long history here,” Dorrel said. “His mother and father went to school here. He had also come to football camp a few years here. He had a lot of really close friends on our team.”
Bevin’s cousin, Carson Klocko, played for the team upon the freshman’s arrival. Bevin’s father was a graduate assistant at Northwest while his mother played volleyball.
A former Division l athlete, he is not the first to be exposed to the caliber of program Northwest has built over the last two decades.
“Guys that have dropped down are always like, ’yeesh, you guys got some good players,’ and I say, ‘yeah we do, we do have some good players running around here,’” Dorrel said. “I think in 2013 that was an eye opening experience for him, as far as the expectation of what Rich (Wright, Assistant coach-defensive coordinator) wants.”
The experience Bevin’s went through was life changing. Everything was new and the transferred freshman didn’t know what to expect coming in.
“Quite honestly, no one cares where you came from,” Dorrel said. “No one cares if you’re from a Division I school, I don’t care. That means nothing now, so you want to see those kids come in here and acclimate.”
It was hard at first, but four years later, the veteran has made refuge in Maryville and cemented his name as one of the greatest defensive players in Northwest’s history.
The No. 1-ranked Bearcats (4-0) take on No. 22-ranked Central Missouri (3-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in the annual Fall Classic.