Could 'Hollywood' Higgins be this humble?

It’s been a long, fun, wild ride of an offseason for Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins.

Colorado State’s All-American junior receiver, who led the NCAA with 17 touchdowns in 2014, hadn’t had time to realize he beat out Dez Bryant, last year’s NFL touchdown leader with 16. He was too busy attending the Belitnikoff Award banquet, putting together photo shoots and finding time to work with his teammates. But now that he knows, Higgins said he might have to tweet the NFL superstar receiver.

This humble Higgins spoke to us about getting to work, not dwelling on failure or success. Higgins is buying into head coach Mike Bobo’s scheme hook, line and sinker. Instead of going home to visit his family, Higgins dug into the play book and watched video with his new coach this summer. When he was asked, with all of his accomplishments, how does he keep his head on straight, he answered, “I try not to let it get to me. I know I still have business to take care of and business to do. We still want a championship. So, at the end of the day it isn’t about me, it is about the team.”

In a way, he is the embodiment of the attitude of this team. Every single player is celebrating others’ successes and helping their teammates correct mistakes. There is seemingly always a large group of players running after the guy that just made a huge play in practice, giving him props, whether it’s on offense or defense. When a player goes to the ground they always get scooped up by a helping hand. These guys are truly a team.

Since we now know that Higgins won’t brag in a press conference, we figured we would do it for him. Here is a list of his achievements and how they match up with his NFL equivalents:

He led the world in touchdown receptions with 17 (Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant collected 16).

Higgins lead the world in receiving yards with 1,750 (Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown collected 1,698).

He was second in the world for yards per catch with 18.2 (He was a close second to the Philadelphia Eagles’ Desean Jackson who had 20.9 and a disappointing season).

Making these comparisons in this way seems more appropriate because his college peers were so far from reaching his status. For instance, sure Amari Cooper had similar stats in in yards and TDs, but he also played an extra two games. Imagine what Higgins would have done with those extra 28 receptions that Amari got. The next person on the list is short more than 200 yards and five TDs. Higgins has proven himself to be a top-tier player with only one peer at his position.

How did he do it? “Hollywood” Higgins is a great route runner first and foremost. No player to my knowledge has ever shaken more defensive backs onto their butts than this kid. He is strong, slender and fast. At 6-foot-2 inches and 188 pounds he would catch a coach’s eye but add in a 4.42 second 40-yard dash time and excellent route running and you are building a juggernaut. Next, he never gives up on a play. In fact, he and the other receivers call themselves the “YAC Bros.” as in yards after the catch.

This is going to sound crazy, but his best quality is that he is a unique personality. He was touched by Coach Bobo shedding a tear in a team meeting and he reinforced that feeling to his teammates. He would rather not rest on his laurels or gloat, instead, Higgins is starting over, putting in the time and grinding to be a better player than last year. The successes and failures of the team mean more to him than his own. He would rather be part of the YAC Bros than be the YAC Bro.

How do these qualities translate into success? His quarterback believes in him and has no problem throwing him the ball. His fellow wide receivers are willing to block downfield for him. His linemen are willing to block until the whistle because they know if they do something great might happen. His running backs execute that essential block to give the QB a little more time. When he makes the big play his defense gets fired up and lays a hit a little harder. The coach feels a little less pressure.

It is an all-encompassing effect that a player like Higgins has on his team. Call it the “Hollywood” Higgins effect. Or maybe, the “Humble” Higgins effect.

Higgins’ tangibles are there, but the intangibles are what set him apart from nearly every other player in the nation.