OXY QB COLLIS HEADED TO THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE
SPOKANE, Wash. — Occidental College quarterback Luke Collis (Pasadena) is going pro. Sooner rather than later.
Collis, who led the SCIAC in touchdown passes (28) and was third in all of Division III in completions per game (27.44) in 2011, joined the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League on Monday following some impressive workouts with the club.
"Luke was in camp with us earlier this season and we have kept him on our radar ever since," Shock general manager Ryan Rigmaiden said in a press release. "He has a lot of the intangibles that we look for in the quarterback spot."
He's in Spokane right now and will suit up as the backup quarterback for the Shock when they host the San Jose Sabercats in the NFL Network's game of the week on Friday at 5 p.m.
"It's a great opportunity and obviously I'm really happy to play for the Shock," Collis said. "It's certainly the next step that guys at D3 don't get that often."
The 6-foot-3, 233 lbs. Collis threw for 41 touchdowns and 4,611 yards in his two-year career at Oxy (5-4, 3-3 SCIAC). In 2011, the senior engineered three fourth-quarter comebacks and led the conference in passing yards per game with 304.6 per contest, nearly 75 yards more than the second best total.
"Luke did a fantastic job for us over the last two years and we're very excited that he has this opportunity to continue his football career," said Occidental football coach Dale Widolff.
Collis, a Pasadena native, graduated from Saint Francis High School then went to NCAA Division I University of Nevada where he was a WAC All-Academic selection before transferring to Occidental for his junior season in 2010.
Oxy, which has won five of the last 10 SCIAC championships, has had three of its last four starting quarterbacks play professionally. Justin Goltz is currently in the CFL playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the late Andy Collins enjoyed a successful four-year career before his passing, most notably with the Los Angeles Avengers and the Colorado Rush.
