Former Lee County standout Stephen Collier earns degree early from Ohio State

LEESBURG — Former Lee County High School student Stephen Collier walked across the stage last Sunday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio and accepted his bachelor’s degree in strategic communications.

A student earning a college degree might seem routine, but what makes this accomplishment impressive is Collier, a backup quarterback on the Ohio State University football team, earned his degree in just two-and-a-half years, something that’s virtually unheard of for a student-athlete.

“It was a blessing for sure,” Collier said. “I took the books seriously.”

Taking academics seriously was an understatement.

The Albany Herald’s 2013 Football Player of the Year graduated high school early at Lee County, then enrolled at Ohio State in early 2014. He accounted for a Lee County school-record 44 touchdowns during his senior season to led the Trojans to a 10-2 record and the Region 1-AAAAA title.

He has spent his career with the Buckeyes as a backup. He took three snaps in a 38-0 victory over Hawaii in 2015 after backing up J.T Barrett and Cardale Jones. He entered 2016 battling redshirt freshman Joe Burrow for the No. 2 position behind Barrett.

Collier, however, missed the entire 2016 season after injuring his knee during the spring game. The injury required surgery.

He has two years of eligibility remaining and he has already been accepted to graduate school. He plans to pursue a graduate degree in kinesiology and sports management.

“I have thought about being an AD,” he said.

He said it hasn’t always been easy. Most semesters, he took the maximum class load of 18 hours — even during the summer, which is when most athletes take time off.

“I knew academics was larger than anything football could provide,” Collier said. “A lot of student-athletes take lighter class loads during the season because you are trying to dedicate time to studying as well as to the team. You figure, you’re practicing six days a week and on two of those, you’re out of state, which makes it hard.

“I was well-positioned to get my degree. I wasn’t trying to take it easy. I wanted to go at it as hard as I could.”

Collier said he went so hard that he was surprised to learn earlier this year that he was close to graduating.

“I talked to some of my academic advisers and they told me, ‘You know you are close to graduating, right?, ” he said. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’”

Lee County coach Dean Fabrizio said he wasn’t surprised at how quickly Collier earned his bachelor’s degree.

“I’m proud of Stephen,” Fabrizio said. “To be 20 years old and graduate in two and a half years, that’s quite an accomplishment. The thing about Stephen is that he is an even better person. He’s going to be successful in whatever he decides to do.”

With two years left and already having graduated, Collier has the option of transferring to another school and immediately becoming immediately eligible to play football.

However, he said he has enjoyed his time with the Buckeyes.

“Coach (Urban) Meyer wants me to stay around,” Collier said. “But right now, we’re focusing on the bowl game with Clemson. I’ll worry about all that later.”