KANNAPOLIS — In a pick-happy A.L. Brown secondary, diminutive senior cornerback DeAngelo Collins has been the pick of the litter.

The Wonders’ defense has picked off 15 passes on the season and has posted at least one interception in each of the team’s nine games. Collins has been the ringleader with seven, although don’t try to tell that to Collins.

“Nah, I’ve got eight,” insists Collins, looking a bit like a middle schooler as he dresses next to muscular strong safety Jason Brown. “Yeah,” he says with a smile, “better make that eight picks.”

The Post sports crew is a lot like announcer Billy Packer — often wrong, never in doubt. But a quick gander at our stats reveals that free safety Charlie Fox has been credited with three thefts and corner Chris Gibson and Brown, Collins’ “brother in crime,” with two picks each. Linebacker Deawain McClure racked up the other interception. Until proven otherwise, we’ll have to stick with those numbers.

But whether the magic number is seven, which would place Collins in a tie with West Rowan’s Eric Weimer as the leader in the Post’s coverage area, or eight, which would make Collins the king of the world, it’s a bunch. It’s especially a bunch for a kid that’s listed at 5-foot-9, but admits to 5-7.

Collins’ secret?

“I play with confidence,” he said. “And I’m always in the right place at the right time.”

Corners have to have supreme confidence, of course. Most teams — and the Wonders are one of them — take care of the run first and worry about the pass later. That means Collins is almost always isolated on a 1-on-1 island with someone a lot taller.

That makes for some difficult Friday nights. Like the one coming up. The Wonders face Northwest Cabarrus, which has a strong-armed quarterback in Ryan Woodham and an angular, glue-fingered receiver named Joe Godwin, who stands 6-2, seven inches taller than Collins.

“I hope I’ll be opposite Godwin some,” said Collins. “He’s their best and I’ll enjoy the challenge. Besides, I took on some 6-3 guys at camp this summer.”

Challenges, apparently, are what make Collins tick.

Last basketball season when West Rowan visited the Wonders, you can probably guess which 5-7 guard begged to badger West’s 6-3 superstar Scooter Sherrill in coach Shelwyn Klutz’s box-and-one defense.

“I accepted the challenge of Scooter,” said Collins. “Scooter was the best in the state, so I wanted to be on him at all times. He only scored 13.”

Sure it wasn’t, maybe, 14?

“Scooter got 13,” says Collins, emphatically. “Thirteen.”

There’s just no arguing with Collins, although Wonder coach Ron Massey says he’s tried it from time to time.

“DeAngelo’s personality is the opposite of shy,” says Massey. “He’s opinionated. We’ve locked horns a few times — butted heads over some things. But we have a mutual respect.”

Massey insisted before this 8-1 season that his 5-7 corner would be a strength, not a weak spot, and so far Collins has proven him a prophet.

“DeAngelo is very much a competitor and he’s studied his position,” Massey said. “His height puts him at a disadvantage sometimes, but playing DB is about great positioning above everything else. He’s got that. And he’s got good speed and good hands. You throw it around him and there’s a chance that he’ll latch on to it.”

Collins latched on to two balls against South Rowan and one each against North Rowan, Central Cabarrus, Piedmont, Harding and East Rowan. The one against Central, he lugged through the mud for a game-clinching touchdown.

That big-play capability means foes have to be wary of the feisty guy wearing No. 9. But then, so do his teammates.

“He lays some licks on people at practice,” said Massey. “He’s just got that sort of tough-guy mentality. He loves the contact. Nothing wrong with that.”

He lays some hits on opposing running backs, too. Wonder charts credit him with an impressive 65 tackles, better than seven per game.

Collins has dreamed of hitting people in a green and white uniform since he was tiny. Well, better make that even tinier.

“Back when I was at Jackson Park (Elementary School), the Hardins would come and take us to the Brown games and let us stand there on the sidelines and watch,” said Collins. “I guess I’ve wanted to be a Wonder all my life.”

Collins got his first chance to contribute last season as part of the Wonders’ nickel package. He picked off his first career pass against North star Mario Sturdivant. He finished the year in a starting role after some injuries hit, and ended the season, by his count, with four picks.

“But it was a quiet four,” said Collins. “This year it’s a loud eight.” (Or seven, but who’s counting).

Anyway, speaking of loud, Collins expresses the idea to anyone who will listen that the fourth-ranked Wonders’ loss to West Rowan will do more good than harm in the long run.

“It was exactly what we needed,” he says. “We’re focused now. Gonna finish strong. The Wonders are back! Imean, we’ve even got jayvees like (soph linebacker) Josh Reeves staying late after his practice just to help us get ready.”

You can count on Collins being ready every Friday from here on out. No one’s arguing with him about that.

“You’ve gotta have those kids like DeAngelo to be successful,” said Massey. “There are a lot of great athletes, but many of them are afraid of failure. This kid is not afraid.”