July 9, 2025
Tavares High Running Back Tamauri Collins Drawing National Attention Ahead of Junior Year
By Kyle Coppola
Tavares High Running Back Tamauri Collins Drawing National Attention Ahead of Junior Year
One look at Tamauri Collins and it’s clear why the Tavares High School junior is gaining a reputation as one of the top running backs in Lake County, and across Central Florida.
At 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, Tamauri is is a compact, powerful runner whose performance on the field backs up his imposing presence. Coming off a breakout sophomore season, Collins rushed for 706 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 9.4 yards per carry.
(Tamauri Collins #4 is averaging 9.4 yards per carry. Last year he scored 13 touchdowns and comes into 2025 as Tavares High’s lead running back. Photo Credit – Gianni Mabbott.)
Now, the buzz around Collins is going national.
This summer, college coaches from across the country have taken notice of the rising star, and his recruitment is beginning to heat up. Collins recently received his first NCAA Division I offer from the University of South Florida. Collins runs a 4.54 in the 40 yard dash. He’s also a good student with a 3.3 GPA.
Collins work ethic is second to none. This young man has physicality, and explosive playmaking ability. Now that Tyler Davis has graduated, Collins will come into the year at Tavares High’s lead running back. Davis also had a strong year with 703 yards and six touchdowns but now Collins will be the go to option for head coach Gavin Jones who is hoping to get Tavares High back to the FHSAA Playoffs for the first time since 2021 after just missing out last season.
FloridaVarsity has Tamauri Collins ranked as the #6 running back in the state coming into 2025 and for good reason. Collins speed has only gotten faster this off season. This young man is almost impossible to catch if he finds space.
Keep a good eye on him this upcoming season!
Photo Credit – Gianni Mabbott
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
