Remember when the mother of former Arkansas running back Alex Collins ran off with his letter of intent?

Of course you do. It was a huge story at the time.

Collins, from South Florida, had decided he would play for Arkansas, and his mother refused to sign it. While everyone thought it was a huge deal — and it was — the Hogs and Bret Bielema were prepared for that to happen. In fact, Arkansas sent three letters of intent to Collins in an anticipation that something may happen to one or two of them.

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema talked the recruiting drama surrounding one of his top former players.

During his career at Arkansas, Collins rushed for 3,703 yards and 36 touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Although he was in and out of the doghouse, I think we’ll look back on Collins’ rather quiet career and continually be impressed with what he accomplished. Three straight 1,000-yard seasons is really accomplishing something in this league.

Looking ahead to the NFL Draft, could Collins jump into the first-round discussion tonight?