5
The Wolverines had never heard of
Collins, but just days after watching
his tape, they flew staff down to
Alabama.
“Nico
actually
recruited
Michigan,” Floyd said. “It wasn’t
Michigan going after him originally,
truth be told.”
Collins first met Jim Harbaugh
with a bag of Dairy Queen in his
hands. It wasn’t long before the
coach wanted some of his own.
“Harbaugh just stuck his hand
right in Nico’s bag, grabbed some
fries out and started eating them,”
Hood said. “(It) was like they had
known each other for forever, which
was pretty awesome.
“He just had himself a good old
Jim Harbaugh time.”
Collins must not have minded
the sacrifice in fries. For all the odd
anecdotes Harbaugh has created on
the recruiting trail, he left a folksier
impression in Birmingham. Collins
would take multiple unofficial visits
to Ann Arbor before committing in
February of his senior year.
“(Harbaugh) was very, very down
to Earth,” Floyd said. “He and I
talked about emojis just because we
wear similar glasses. … He’s pretty
cool, man. He’s not like a lot of
coaches, and Nico liked that.”
***
Three years later, Collins has
indeed
started
to
shine
under
Harbaugh.
Taking over a starting role for
the
injured
Black,
Collins
has
five catches for 113 yards and a
touchdown in three games. He
maintains the team’s highest
yard-per-catch mark while
blossoming into a reliable
deep threat for Shea
Patterson.
In the season-
opener at Notre
Dame, Collins
caught
a
52-yard
bomb
from
the
junior quarterback to open the
second half. A week later, Collins
caught his first career touchdown
on another deep ball — this time a
44-yard connection against Western
Michigan. It was the first score in
364 days for a Wolverines receiver.
“Everybody’s
always
seen
potential in him,” Patterson said.
“Even last year in film, I remember
watching this tall, lanky guy — very
athletic and fast.”
So what’s been the difference
in Collins realizing this potential?
Unprompted, Patterson gave part of
the answer during a press conference
Wednesday.
“(It was) believing in himself a
little bit more,” Patterson said. “…
Just him knowing that he’s kinda
that guy.”
Collins knows his career is far
from finished, but he talks about
his NFL dreams with his family
occasionally. He wants to continue
becoming faster and stronger,
hoping to model the skill sets
of Randy Moss, Josh Gordon
and DeAndre Hopkins.
With plays like those
he
made
against
Notre
Dame
and
Western
Michigan,
that’s
becoming more of a reality.
“God willing, he stays healthy, and
if he does, there’s no telling where he
could go,” Don said. “Heck, Hall of
Fame.”
A lot separates Collins from a gold
jacket. But Collins now believes that
the sky’s the limit, and that’s what is
truly important.
“I think he realizes that he
can be really good,” Don
said. “And I think after the
conversation we had in
fall camp, the light
just came on for
him.
“It was time
to rock n’
roll.”