There’s a very real chance that Bryan Collins won’t be in the starting lineup when the SMU football team opens the 2011 season Sept. 3 at Texas A&M. But the argument could be made that he is as valuable as any of the projected starters.

SMU offensive line coach Adrian Klemm welcomes back six blockers who will be seniors in the fall, and all have starting experience: Kelvin Beachum, Jr., Bryce Tennison, Blake McJunkin, Kelly Turner and J.T. Brooks, and now Josh LeRibeus, who sat out the 2010 season. But he has considerable confidence in Collins, who already has played every position along the line except center in his first two seasons at SMU.

In his first two seasons at SMU, Bryan Collins already has played every offensive line position except center (photo by David Mojica).

Coaches and players insist that no position group requires time to develop timing and chemistry more than the offensive line. But at the start the 2009 season, there was Collins — then a true freshman — in the starting lineup as an injury replacement for Brooks in the season opener against Stephen F. Austin.

“I was nervous before the first snap of that Stephen F. Austin game,” Collins said. “I guess you’re always nervous until you get that first play, the first hit out of the way. You can watch film all day, and your teammates and coaches can tell you what to expect, about how much bigger guys are in college, how much faster they are, but until you get out there and get hit, you don’t know.”

Now Collins is a key cog in the SMU offensive line. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 302 pounds, he has added about 30 pounds of muscle (he now bench presses 395 pounds) since his arrival at SMU. While he naturally wants a starting role, he has started to embrace the opportunities his versatility allows.

“I have only not played at center,” he said. “It might be easier to stay at one position, but being able to play more than one has given me more chances to get on the field. I’ll play any position to get on the field.”

Klemm has even suggested that Collins could get a look at center this spring, although that has not yet happened.

Collins said that whether he is playing tackle or guard, he is more comfortable on the right side, but said Klemm’s willingness to put him on either side of the line of scrimmage as improved his own confidence and increased his multi-position versatility.

“Blocking-wise, I prefer the right side, but again, I’ll play anywhere to get on the field,” Collins said. “When you flip over to the other side, you have to switch everything — your point of view on the guy in front of you, your footwork, what you do with your hands. So it’s just a comfort thing, but if you focus and think it through, I’m OK on either side.”

Collins said it is a source of pride for him — and for his fellow offensive linemen — that while the skill-position players get the touchdowns and headlines, no offense will be successful without a strong performance by the big bodies up front.

“The offensive line has to be the strength of any offense, and we feel like we have a strong line here,” Collins said. “It’s five guys who all have to do their job, or the whole unit fails. If one guy messes up, it messes up the entire offense.

“If you miss your guy, you give up a sack. If you (give half effort), someone else can make a play.”

Now two years into his college career, Collins not only is bigger and stronger, but he also has refined his technique as he has gained experience. Nonetheless, he said he continues to look to the six seniors in front of him for ways in which he can improve.

“I can learn from those guys,” he said. “‘Beach,’ Bryce, LeRibeus — they all have different things that are their strengths. They have been here and seen everything, so I have to try to take advantage of their experience.

“I look at all of the (2011) seniors, and try to take a little bit from each of them. I want to learn maturity from ‘Beach,’ to work in the weight room like Kelly and J.T. — you can learn from all of them. All six of them are good players, and I can pick things up — all of the younger linemen can pick things up — from them.”

One area in which Collins said he has improved significantly since his arrival at SMU is in his preparation for each opponent, specifically in the way he studies film.

“Rather than just going in and looking at film just to say you watched film, I learned to ‘watch it smarter,’ I guess,” Collins said. “I study the guy I’ll go against, and look at what moves he makes, how he makes them and when he makes them. Coach (June) Jones always says, ‘know what he’s going to do.’ That’s what we try to do.”