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.”