Tuesday, September 4, 2018 — 3B
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsTuesday

Collins inspires confidence from his teammates in No. 2 receiving role 

Amid fans airing grievances 
after 
the 
Michigan 
football 
team’s 24-17 loss at Notre Dame, 
it was difficult to focus on 
anything but the negatives of the 
Wolverines’ performance.
But with 48 hours to digest 
Saturday night’s game, a big 
picture outlook of Michigan 
football is in order. Or in other 
words, every cloud has a silver 
lining.
It was Week 1, with new 
offensive pieces, against a ranked 
team, in the Fighting Irish’s 
own stadium, nonetheless. The 
defense, especially in the second 
half, 
was 
mostly 
consistent 
and junior quarterback Shea 
Patterson showed glimpses of 
why he was already a fan favorite.
But no player took a leap and 
inspired new confidence like 
sophomore wide receiver Nico 
Collins.
“He seems to be catching 
everything,” said junior left 
guard Ben Bredeson prior to 
Saturday’s game, a foretell of 
his expanded role. “I’m no wide 
receivers coach here … but it 
seems 
like 
whenever 
we’re 
getting into the red zone or 
something like that — we need a 
touchdown — Nico is usually the 
guy getting it for us.”
The 
6-foot-4 
Collins 
was 
thrown into the No. 2 spot on the 
depth chart after Tarik Black’s 
foot injury. Hype swirled around 
as chatter surfaced about what 
the unproven Collins could do to 
fill the void left by Black.
“Before he got hurt, we always 
talked about what we would do in 
a game together — celebrations 
and whatever we had,” Collins 
said. “When he went down, our 
receivers got together and was 
like ‘Alright, let’s do it for Tarik.’ ”
Collins didn’t find the end 
zone on Saturday, but hauled in 
three catches for 66 yards in his 
starting debut — he tallied just 

three catches for 27 yards all of 
last season. The numbers don’t 
pop, but Collins proved his worth.
On 
the 
Wolverines’ 
first 
offensive drive of the season, 
Collins caught Patterson’s first 
passing attempt at Michigan 
with 
a 
trips 
screen 
pass, 
barreling eight yards after the 
catch through junior tight end 
Sean McKeon’s blocks.
To begin the second quarter, 
Collins was split left, and caught 
a six-yard slant for the first down 
inside the red zone.
And for his final reception, 

to start the second half, Collins 
outran Notre Dame cornerback 
Julian Love on a deep post 
and snagged an underthrown, 
52-yard heave.
“Loved the big play,” said 
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. 
“Thought he did a great job of 
running his route, burst of speed 
and did a great job of tracking the 
ball — and that fantastic catch.
“Blocked well and consistently 
ran good routes the whole game.”
Added Collins: “It meant a 
lot to this team. We made an 
adjustment at the halftime. After 

I caught that we were just like 
‘Okay, let’s go score the ball.’ 
Made a little spark to the offense, 
move the ball.”
For Collins, the promotion 
was 
quick, 
but 
seamless. 
Another year corrected a lot of 
mental lapses according to him, 
and being the next man up is 
something he’s been ready for 
since the spring.
“Last year I wasn’t ready, didn’t 
really know anything my first 
year,” Collins said. “The playbook 
is a whole different level than 
what I was used to in high school. 

Just having that first year under 
my belt, learning from freshman 
year, it kinda brought a little juice 
to me in the spring.”
But it wasn’t Collins’ own 
development that improved, but 
his connection with Patterson. 
According to Collins, Patterson 
is unlike any quarterback he has 
played with before, a proposition 
that forced Collins to change his 
attitude when running routes.
“With him, the play isn’t 
over,” Collins said. “We’re all 
trying to find ways to get open. 
Scramble drill and find the open 

spot. … He’s a really explosive 
quarterback. He can find ways to 
get the ball to you and find ways 
to make plays.”
For an otherwise stagnant 
offense, Collins’ consistency was 
a flower in a dirt field. Losing 
Black, of course, was painful. But 
after 60 minutes of Collins in the 
starting rotation, Black’s absence 
did not seem like a make-or-
break loss. For a Michigan team 
looking to rebound, it can be 
thankful that it has at least one 
less issue that doesn’t need 
urgent help.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

Sophomore wide receiver notches three catches for 66 yards as one of the lone offensive bright spots against Notre Dame

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Nico Collins says he “wasn’t ready” and “didn’t really know anything (his) first year,” but his leading receiving performance on Saturday shows how far he has come since.