Kerry Collins

Kerry Collins' young life in Lebanon, Pennsylvania was consumed by football. It's exactly what you might expect for a quarterback who would go on to become a first-team All-American at Penn State - and, ultimately, the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft.

During his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers, he was introduced to hunting. "From then on, wherever I was playing, I managed to find some hunting to do," he said. "It wasn't easy in California, but everywhere else I always found time and places to hunt." During his tenure with the New York Giants, Collins owned land in New Jersey and carved out time for bow hunting deer nearly every week.

In 2011, a concussion landed him on injured reserve with the Indianapolis Colts. It kept him out of action on the football field but helped him realize a new pursuit: duck hunting. "I got to come home to Nashville and connected with a friend who had a lease in Arkansas," he recalls. "I got to experience duck camp and some good hunts, and I was hooked. Within a year, I had a lease … and a dog. I was full-on 'Let's go!' Since then, it's been a true passion."

Retired from the NFL since 2012, Collins lives in Franklin, Tennessee and has become a supporter of Delta Waterfowl. He especially appreciates the value of Delta Duck Production and Predator Management programs. "Predator Management really stands out to me as unique to Delta and extremely beneficial," he says. "The data shows it. We've got to hatch as many ducks as we possibly can, and controlling the impact of predators on the nests and hens is the way to do that. Direct Predator Management and Hen Houses are how Delta gets it done."

For a good portion of his duck hunting career, Collins joined friends who hunted Camden Bottoms WMA on the Tennessee River. "That's where I got to hunt with guys who really knew what they were doing," he said. "It was my first foray into bigger water, bigger decoy spreads, and the rest. I learned a ton from hunting there. It's very competitive. You're all working the same birds, so I learned a lot about decoying and calling to be successful."

Because of his experiences hunting public land, Collins appreciates that Delta produces ducks for everyone. "The work Delta does up on the prairies is great because it makes ducks for hunters everywhere - guys who hunt public areas as well as guys with private land. That's why focus on duck production is so beneficial. More ducks are good for everybody."

His duck hunting career included 10 years with his first Lab, "Journey," who passed in the hunting blind last fall. With his new yellow Lab pup, "Goose," he's looking forward to seasons ahead.

Collins feels fortunate to live as a "gentleman farmer" on their small acreage in Franklin and focus on his family: his daughter Riley, who attends Appalachian State University, and his wife, Brooke. Together they care for rescue animals on their farm and make hay "... to scratch my farming itch," he says. The family also owns a small cattle operation in North Carolina. Football remains a part of his life, as Collins volunteers as a coach with a local high school team.

The Collins family values philanthropy. "Each year we sit down and come up with a plan to support a children's hospital, a military cause, and some local charities," he says, "but for conservation, we always support Delta."

Delta development director Brian Canerdy said, "Kerry and his family have been instrumental in helping move the needle for ducks and duck hunters in the South. We are sincerely grateful for his support and leadership in Tennessee over the years."

With an eye to the future, Collins acquired hunting property near Dresden, Tennessee. He can't wait to hunt there this fall and says he'll continue supporting Delta to send some of those birds his way. - Bill Miller