2022 DB Raleigh Collins previews this weekend's Whiteout Camp
Class of 2022 defensive back Raleigh Collins is among the prospects slated to attend Penn State's Whiteout Camp this weekend.
Collins — who attends Philadelphia's Neumann-Goretti high school — received an offer from the Penn State staff back in May of 2020, and is one of several of 2022 prospects the staff encouraged to attend camp this summer.
"I was on the phone with coach [James] Franklin and coach [Anthony] Poindexter and another recruiter at Penn State, and they really wanted me to come to this White Out camp on the sixth," Collins said. "I was like, 'Why not?' I booked a hotel for Saturday. I'm going to drive up there Saturday afternoon, maybe look around campus, take a tour or something, and then go to camp on Sunday."
Collins said he's looking forward to getting one-on-one work with the Penn State staff, an opportunity that he'll surely get because of the select nature of the camp.
Rivals lists Collins as a cornerback, but he said the Nittany Lions are recruiting him to play safety. He currently stands at 6-foot-4, 185 pounds.
"I'm lengthy and I'm really physical," Collins said. "So that's why some schools have been looking at me as a hybrid safety outside-backer type deal."
Collins described himself as a "zone corner," but he's been working on his man coverage technique with former NFL defensive back Brandon Bing, and he's hoping to use this weekend's camp as a chance to demonstrate those improvements.
"I definitely want to prove how I've gotten better at man coverage and my top-end speed," Collins said. "I've been working with Brandon Bing, and he's got me right."
Collins currently holds 16 scholarship offers, and is still receiving interest from schools that haven't extended that offer just yet, like Rutgers, Wake Forest and Northwestern.
Of the schools that have offered him, Collins said Penn State, Army, Temple, West Virginia and Maryland are among the schools currently making the biggest push.
He'll get the chance to meet them in person this weekend, but Collins said Penn State's coaches have made a positive impression over the phone.
"They seem like great guys," he said. "Coach Poindexter, he's straight to it. He's going to be real with you, and he's a great guy to talk to. Coach Franklin, I think everyone kind of sees his social media, he's a fun, energetic guy. Every time we're on FaceTime, he's always smiling and cracking jokes, so he's really cool. It's been fun to talk with him."
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