LI's Dylan Laube, Chris Collier: From the local gridirons to Raiders teammates

Chris Collier walked into the Las Vegas Raiders practice facility in November of 2024 and thought he knew no one. Just another starting point in a football career that tracked through three college teams and now his second NFL home.

Collier had been released by the Baltimore Ravens and signed by the Raiders. He was walking into the unknown, in a place where he was going to compete for someone’s job. The moment can be daunting. It can also resonate forever.

This moment sets in motion a close-knit friendship that will be tested by time.

As Collier, a former Lawrence High School star running back and Newsday All-Long Island selection, scanned the cafeteria, there was a familiar face – Dylan Laube. The two had played against each other since youth football and through high school.

Laube of Westhampton Beach, who was the co-winner of the Hansen Award, given to Suffolk’s top player in 2017, was another outstanding Long Island running back and was also in search of a roster spot with the Raiders.

“When I got to the Raiders and walked into the cafeteria, Dylan saw me and was like 'no way’, and we hugged it out,” Collier said. “I immediately felt comfortable. He made me feel right at home. I didn’t have a place or a car yet and there was Dylan offering to help me with whatever I needed. He was driving me around town and helping me out in every way.”

Laube said it’s easy to reach out and help a guy like Collier.

“We’ve played against each other at all levels of football,” Laube said. “We played together on the Long Island all-star team for the Empire Challenge as seniors. And now we work out together in the off-season. Of course, I’m going to do whatever I can on his journey. We got super close. He’s a great guy.”

Laube and Collier trained together during the offseason working on strength, speed and agility,  and building a close bond.

“He’s a man of character,” Collier said of his friend. “Think about what he does for a guy who was trying to earn the same roster spot, playing the same position, for the same NFL team. He’s an incredible guy. And I would have done the same for him.”

The two had come full circle. Standing on the field at a recent Raiders practice in Las Vegas, they’d realized how far they’d traveled. Collier played his youth football in Inwood and Laube played for Sachem. And they played against each other at eight years old.

“We look back at our Long Island roots and we’re so proud,” Laube said. “We represent Long Island football.”

They met again in high school. And this one had everything on the line for the Long Island Class III championship in 2017. Collier had rehabbed his way back from a brutal injury in his junior year. He suffered from a torn ACL and torn hamstring in a game at Wantagh High School, was carted from the field and his future in football very much in doubt.

“I was determined to play my senior year,” Collier said. "I got my foot caught in the turf at Wantagh and that was it. I rehabbed hard to come back. I’m blessed in every way because the injury took a toll on me and really tested my resilience. I put a lot into my faith and trust in God as this was his plan. God tested me, and I’ve learned how to be strong and believe.”

Collier credited Lawrence coach Joe Martilotti ‘as a huge influence in my life’.

“He gave me confidence and words of affirmation when I needed them most,” Collier said. “Everyone needs support and love in life. Coach took the training wheels off and let me ride. I grew up watching the greatness of the Fredericks brothers in Lawrence – and a winning culture – like what Laube experienced out in Westhampton Beach.”

Collier came back and rushed for 1,572 yards and 25 touchdowns to lead the Tornadoes to the Class III title game and a date with an old adversary – Laube.

Laube had one of Long Island’s greatest single seasons of all time. And the undefeated Hurricanes beat Lawrence, 54-26, to win the Long Island Class III crown. Laube scored six touchdowns and rushed for 227 yards. Collier scored two touchdowns. “Dylan ran all over us, he was unstoppable,” Collier said.

Laube finished the season with a Long Island-record 47 touchdowns and 2,680 yards rushing to lead Westhampton Beach to its first undefeated record at 12-0.

The two weren’t done. They graduated in June of 2018 and played one last game at the high school level. Only this time -- they were playing on the same team in Boomer Esiason’s Empire Challenge putting the top senior all-stars from Long Island against their New York City counterparts.

Laube shared the Hansen Award with co-winner Jeremy Ruckert of Lindenhurst, another phenomenal high school talent, who went on to win a national title at Ohio State and now plays tight end for the Jets. Laube called the Boomer Game a great memory.

“We were treated like professionals by Boomer and his staff at Hofstra,” Laube said. “The game had such a professional feel from uniforms to locker rooms to the crowd.”

Laube played running back and Collier moved to wide receiver as Long Island won, 21-20.

Laube went on to star at the University of New Hampshire before being drafted by the Raiders in the sixth round of the 2024 draft. The three-time All-American still holds the NCAA Division-I record for receiving yards by a running back in a single game with 295 set in 2023.

Collier, 6-0, 205 pounds, went to Nassau CC, Wagner College and finished his career at Lock Haven University before signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent in 2024.

The two prepared for the biggest week of the preseason in the searing Las Vegas heat where temperatures soared as high as 115 degrees. It’s the final week of training camp where teams carve out the 53-man roster.

“It’s 102 degrees or more every day in Las Vegas,” Laube said. “The Raiders have the best facilities, nutritionists, recovery and strength staff. They teach us how to hydrate properly in advance of extreme heat. I’m in complete heaven here. If you’re collapsing on the field that’s on you. They’re on us about hydration.”

Collier and Laube both feel they’ve put their best effort forward. Collier had four carries for 26 yards against the 49ers and nine carries for 42 yards against the Seahawks in the first two preseason games. Laube rushed for 34 yards against the Seahawks and scored the Raiders first touchdown of the preseason on a short pass from quarterback Aidan O’Connell.

“It’s going really well,” Laube said. “We have a bunch of studs in the running backs room. I’ve been starting on all special teams and just taking it one step at a time. From year one to year two, I know what to expect, know what to do. There is no pressure on me.”

Both players feel coach Pete Carroll is the right choice to help revitalize the once proud Raiders tradition of ‘Just Win Baby.’ Carroll, who incidentally also has somewhat of a Long Island background when he coached the Jets.

“Pete Carroll is a passionate coach and brings the juice every day,” Laube said. “He is always about competing - at everything. He’ll have us shoot free throws or throw footballs at goal posts in competition. He’s changing the culture.”

Laube, 5-10, 206 pounds, impressed the staff with a 59-yard kickoff return last year in his rookie season. His ability to play on all special teams has made him desirable.

Dylan Laube takes the kickoff back 59 yards for the @Raiders!

📺: #DENvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/lkkzX3gq8x

— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024

“My high school coaches Bill Parry and Cole Magner helped me set the foundation for my future,” Laube said. “Special teams are important. They helped me get the right mindset and prepare for the NFL. If I can make myself more versatile by contributing to those units, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Both players are 25 years old, and the comparisons are striking. The journey has been somewhat similar. The goal is the same. Two special talents trying to make it at the highest level of professional football.

“It’s fate, man,” Collier said. “It keeps bringing us back together.”

The final audition for a roster spot came late Saturday night on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. NFL rosters are announced Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Laube and Collier will be waiting. Two friends, who have come full circle from youth football and now battle for the same position on the same team in the NFL.

What are the odds?