DL Alfred Collins Press Conference

DL Alfred Collins

Press Conference – April 25, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Not much time has passed since your name was called. What was that moment like for you?

“That was amazing, an amazing feeling. To be able to get the opportunity to play again, win some more games. Man, it was amazing being with all my family. Everybody that helped me along the way. It was fantastic. I don’t even have words.”

What kind of interaction did you have with the 49ers in the run up to the Draft?

“It was just getting to know me, getting to know me as a person because they see the player on the field, but they just wanted to see who they were bringing in the locker room. So that’s really it.”

Was this a place that you had kind of eyeballed, thought that this was a legitimate possibility for you?

“I was open to wherever. They’re taking the chance on me, not going to be a mistake. So, I’m just blessed.”

You said they wanted to see what you bring to the locker room. What do you bring to the locker room?

“What I bring to the locker room, a competitive mindset. I’m ready to learn from those that have done it before me. I’m ready to come in and do whatever I can to win games and I’m going to be a good teammate to my teammates.”

Have you met defensive line coach Kris Kocurek before, or did you meet him during this process or talk to him?

“Yeah, I met him at the Combine, and we had some Zooms and FaceTimes.”

What is your first assessment of his personality?

“I like him. He’s a personable guy and intense, about his business. The bar is set high.”

Did you talk to Houston Texans OL Trent Brown about the 49ers? What’s been his involvement in the draft process?

“I haven’t really talked to him today, but he just said, ‘This is a job. You’ve got to work. Set yourself apart. That’s really the main gist of what he was saying. Just work, man. That’s all you can do.”

What is the mindset and physical traits you need to stop the run?

“Just great pad level, elite hands, great feet, play recognition to know what block is coming to you and then just getting off of blocks, doing your job at a high level.”

You really showed your durability at Texas. How much was that emphasized in your conversations with teams throughout the process?

“I feel I’ve grown more value. I could play any position on the defensive line at a high level. So that’s really what the talk was about.”

LB Fred Warner actually, earlier this week, said that he was excited to get a lot of younger guys on the defense. That it would bring back a grittiness or some type of grit to the defensive side of the ball. Does that make you feel a little bit more comfortable knowing somebody like Fred Warner, such a leader on this team, is excited to have some younger guys play?

“Most definitely. I know we’re going to come in, he’s going to be honest. The bar is set high, like I said, and I’m ready. I’m ready to work.”

Have you talked much with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and if so, what have those conversations been like?

“They’ve been good. Everything’s really been on the same lines of just coming in, helping us win games, learning, being coachable, all of the above.”

What was the sort of the upside to spending so much time in an SEC program, getting the amount of development you did there to be able to kind of step into this position where a lot is going to be expected of young guys on this defense?

“I would say just week-to-week, going against the best of the best. And then also just the work that had to be put in to be good. Because you can’t not put in work and then go play Georgia or Arkansas. I feel like got a little bit of a little glimpse of what it can be like in the NFL or what it is going to be like in the NFL.”

Have you met DL Mykel Williams, the first pick?

“No, sir.”

You’re familiar with him from the SEC though?

“No, sir.”

Anybody you’re excited to talk to, pick their brain a bit once you get here to the Bay Area on the team?

“The linebacker, he’s really good.”

Fred Warner.

“Yes. I love how he carries himself. I love how he plays. And then just all the older guys. I just want to, it doesn’t matter what, I’m going to ask, I’m trying to be in this league for a long time and they’ve done it before me. They’ve been in my shoes, so I’m picking their brain for sure.”

You missed just one game in college, is that right?

“I missed probably like three or four.”

Did you have to play through a lot of stuff? You play a violent position. Is there stuff you just have to go through playing defense tackle?

“Oh, for sure. I’m never a hundred percent and it’s just the mentality, you know what I’m saying? That’s been instilled and that’s just how I go about my business.”

Did you have an idea that the 49ers were interested in you throughout the whole process?
“They were saying just having some young people come in and contribute is big for them. I didn’t know. I didn’t.”