Poteau standout Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK has been on our radar for a long time. And what’s crazy to us is that Collins is the first D1 signee to come out of Poteau in nearly three decades. Poteau has been one of the best programs in 4A football over the last decade and Collins is the best of the bunch. Collins is your prototypical athlete where he has had a massive impact in all three phases of the game. And as he moves on to Tulsa, Collins is going to be able to fit in just about anywhere Tulsa tries to play him. Even now, we’re not sure what the natural fit is but we know he can play wherever they put him.

Poteau senior and Tulsa signee Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK has been one of the best overall players in the state for several seasons now. During his junior season in 2022, Collins was limited in the impact he could have on the game because of nagging injuries. When Collins is at full strength, like we saw this fall, he has the ability to completely change the game in all three phases. Offense, defense and special teams, Collins is routinely one of the best players on the field. And during his junior season, Collins was not at full strength and couldn’t show that full arsenal of abilities. But in 2023, we saw Collins lead his team to the 4A semifinals and week after week, he was a complete playmaker.

Poteau senior and Tulsa commit Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK is one of the best overall players in the state. It doesn’t matter where you line him up on a football field, he’s going to have the ability to have an impact in a major way. On offense, he’s a dynamic running back but now he’s not alone in the backfield, so the Pirates are going to be able to pick and choose their spots for the dynamic playmaker. On defense, he’s a ball hawk defensive back that can absolutely lay the hammer down in the open field. And finally, he’s a threat as a return man in special teams. Like we said, it doesn’t matter where he is on the field, he’s capable of making a big play.

We’ve been talking about Poteau senior standout Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK for a while now. Whether it’s offense, defense or special teams, Collins has the ability to be the best overall player in Class 4A as we begin the playoffs. On offense, Collins is an electric playmaker at the running back position. He leads Poteau’s powerful rushing attack and then turns around and is a standout at defensive back. Collins is also a threat to impact the game when he returns kicks in special teams. Collins had his junior season impacted by injuries but he has made up for lost time this season and the Pirates are back to contending.

Poteau standout and Tulsa commit has been hovering around the top ten in our overall rankings since they began and he’s routinely been one of, if not the top prospect at his position. Collins has been electric in all three phases of the game this season. On offense, he’s a game-changing running back. On defense, he’s a ball hawk in the secondary that also comes up and absolutely hammers opponents. And then Collins is a standout in special teams and has been a threat in the return game. Collins is the first of two prospects on this breakdown to earn a spot on the PRZ-Oklahoma Player Of The Year watchlist and he has helped lead the Pirates to a 9-0 record and they are serious contenders for the 4A state title. Collins was limited last season with nagging injuries but Collins has been an absolute superstar and the Pirates have benefitted from that.

The Poteau Pirates are now 8-0 on the season and they are once again being led by one of the best two-way players in the state. Senior standout and Tulsa commit Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK has been lights out as the Pirates expect to contend for the 4A state championship this season. Coming into this week, Collins had over 500 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He’s also added four other touchdowns and then turns around and has been outstanding on defense. He has 33 tackles and a pair of interceptions in the Poteau secondary. Poteau played at Sallisaw on Thursday night and with the win, the Pirates continue to control their destiny in the district. They have a showdown with unbeaten Ada coming up next week. Collins has been one of the better two-way players in 4A football and looks to finish strong.

4A’s #2 Poteau will host 5A’s #8 Bishop Kelley in Friday’s season opener. These two teams have opened the last three seasons against one another and the Pirates have won the last two meetings. In those two wins, 2024 standout and Tulsa commit Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK could not be stopped. In last season’s meeting with Bishop Kelley, he ran for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 11 carries. In 2021, he had his breakout moment against Bishop Kelley with 169 yards and a touchdown on just 9 carries. This season, Collins leads a Poteau rushing attack that is going to be outstanding. As long as he can stay healthy, Collins is going to be hard to stop. Bishop Kelley is much improved from last season and they’ll provide a strong test for Collins and the Pirates.

One of the biggest “what ifs” from last season in Class 4A was about Poteau 2024 standout Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK and if he stayed healthy, how productive could he have been last fall? In an injury-plagued season, Collins still managed to run for over 1,200 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. At various points in the season, Collins put an emphasis on defense while nursing an injury. On defense, he finished with nearly 90 tackles and also four interceptions on the season. The Pirates could afford to have Collins just play defense with the emergence of another stellar running back. But as we look ahead to this fall, we think that Collins could be one of the top two-way players in the state. If he stays healthy, he’ll be one of the biggest impact players in Class 4A.

Poteau standout Dax Collins Dax Collins 6'2" | 180 lbs | ATH Poteau | 2024 State OK is near the top of the list in terms of players that we’re most excited to watch this season. Collins is one of the more versatile and dynamic athletes in Class 4A and nagging injuries really limited what he was able to do in 2022. With a clean bill of health, Collins has the ability to make a massive impact on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. He can be a player that runs 1,500 to 2,000 yards on offense and then turn around and rack up over 100 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. He certainly has that kind of potential and we saw flashes of it last season before he got hurt and would really focus on defense down the stretch of the season. Collins is a prospect that we’ve compared to former McAlester star Erik McCarty and we still think that’s the correct comparison. If healthy, he can be a highlight player in the state.