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Sports
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 — 7A
Nico Collins and the test of reaching a ceiling
Three years after Nico Collins
graduated
Clay-Chalkville
High School in the suburbs of
Birmingham, Ala., Jerry Hood’s
pride still bubbles up every time he
watches Michigan play.
For four years, Collins terrorized
defenses with the athleticism and
imposing frame that made him one
of the most talented players Hood
has coached. Watching from the
stands all those years, Hood’s kids
idolized Collins and watched in
awe as he accounted for 2,773 yards
and 40 touchdowns in his career
with Clay-Chalkville.
So now, when they watch
Michigan together, their pride is a
family affair.
“My kids still look at the TV,
‘Where’s Nico?’ Hood said. “… It’s
really fun to watch.”
Thousands
of
miles
away
in Ann Arbor, Michigan fans
find
themselves
asking
the
same question every week. For
them, it’s a matter of frustration,
sparked by the contrast of Collins’
generational talent paired against
his inconsistent usage.
It’s a frustration that rears
its head when Collins inevitably
breaks downfield, positions himself
perfectly and pinpoints a deep ball
against an overmatched defensive
back, before going untargeted for
drives at a time as the Wolverines’
offense sputters.
“He adds a dynamic element to
our offense to where you have to
pay attention to him every snap,”
senior quarterback Shea Patterson
said after last week’s win over
Maryland. “And most of the time
when he’s one-on-one, he’s going to
go up and get it.”
That afternoon summed up
Collins’ season, as he brought down
a key 51-yard reception late in the
second quarter — and then finished
with no catches the rest of the way.
Against
Maryland,
Collins
knew when his opportunity was
coming.
All
week,
Michigan
had gameplanned to exploit the
Terrapins’ Cover-6 defense, with
Collins having half the field to work
against freshman safety Treron
Williams.
“That was just the coverage
we’ve been game-planning for all
week, and we just hit it over the
top,” Patterson said.
The play, of course, worked,
going for 51 yards off play-action
and setting up a rushing touchdown
two plays later. It also epitomized
how Michigan likes to use Collins
as a deep threat — sparingly and
against looks that the Wolverines
know he can exploit.
Of Collins’ three 40-plus yard
receptions this year, two came in
the first five minutes of games,
when a team’s offensive plays are
often scripted. All three times, the
deep shots were isolated plays in
games where he was mostly used
underneath, providing a departure
from his high school days when
Collins’ size meant he could be
targeted at will.
“We felt like, if they were not
double-covering him, that we were
available to take a shot at any time,”
Hood said. “… He’s just a mismatch,
man.”
Developing
beyond
his
trademark size has been Collins’
primary focus throughout his three
years at Michigan. He arrived
in 2017 as an enticing but raw
prospect, with the athleticism that
made him the rare four-star wide
receiver recruit who hadn’t posted
a single 1,000-yard season in high
school.
In
a
largely
anonymous
freshman season, he finished with
just three catches for 27 yards,
but set the path for a breakout
sophomore year by developing
into an all-around receiver. Now
working with offensive coordinator
Josh Gattis — a renowned wide
receivers coach at previous stops —
Collins has continued that process
with a focus on his route-running,
foot placement and pad level.
“I learn a lot from coach Gattis,”
Collins said. “He really harps on
details, technique, pad level. So
he really knows what he’s talking
about, we just gotta trust it.”
The
results,
though,
have
remained well short of Collins’
high ceiling, with his 439 yards
and three touchdowns through
nine games putting him on a near-
identical pace to last season. And
with flashes that he could be so
much more, that’s an unsatisfying
reality.
“What surprises me a little bit is
that they sometimes don’t run curls
or different short routes for him
that would set that kind of (deep
shot) up,” Hood said. “(Michigan
has) so many great receivers that
it’s hard for a team to double-cover
him.”
Hood is careful to note that he’s
not criticizing the Wolverines’
coaching staff. Even watching from
afar, the strides in Collins’ game
are obvious — “Goodness gracious,
those guys do an awesome job
coaching,” he said. But his point
meshes with the general consensus:
use Collins more and the results
will follow.
Ask Collins himself and his
agreement is implicit.
“A lot of people say I’m a deep
threat, (and) it’s kinda true, but I
can run a lot of routes,” Collins said.
“Slants, curls, whatever. Any route
on the route tree, I can do it all.”
Still, Collins’ ability as a deep
threat remains his calling card. It’s
what makes him a likely Day Two
NFL Draft pick in the future and
the focus of opposing defenses in
the present. And as he stood on an
empty field at Maryland Stadium
on Saturday, it’s what brought a
smile to his often-stoic face.
“I feel my go-to is the deep ball,”
Collins said. “I love deep balls,
man. I like getting my team, the
offense, an opportunity to score
the ball.”
The challenge for Michigan
is optimizing that ability. And as
Collins enters what could be the
last three games of his college
career without a 100-yard game
and 144th in the country in
receiving yards, that’s the issue
the Wolverines have to solve.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Editor
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Junior receiver Nico Collins made just one catch against Maryland, but it went for 51 yards on a deep ball.
Wolverines studying NHL power plays to improve
When Bill Muckalt cues up
film for his power-play units
to watch, he doesn’t always
turn to the film bank Michigan
maintains of its own games and
practices. Instead, the associate
head coach pulls together clips
from the highest level of the
sport.
As
the
Wolverines
work
with a new power-play system
under Muckalt’s
guidance
—
moving from a
unit with three
forwards
and
two defensemen
to four forwards
and
one
defenseman
—
Michigan’s time
in the film room
has been spent
watching
how
NHL teams run their power
plays.
“I
think
it’s
no
secret,
people and pucks to the net,
take the goalie’s eyes away,”
Muckalt said. “That’s a good
recipe to generate, but I think
specifically, when we watch
NHL teams and watch what
they’re doing is — part of our
job is to develop players to the
National Hockey League and
watching the best players, the
game is still the same but it’s at
a different speed and a different
execution. … You watch smart
offensive players and it’s kind
of a copycat league and you take
ideas.”
Michigan has spent the most
time watching the Vancouver
Canucks, who run a similar
system, but Muckalt was quick
to clarify that he thinks there’s
something to be learned from
every team in the
league.
While
most teams run
variations of a
1-3-1 formation,
each team has
its own spin on
it
and
creates
different looks.
And
as
the
Wolverines
try
to figure out how
to make the new
system work for them, watching
teams across the NHL is helping
them see what their options are.
“We’re just trying to simplify
on the power play, get pucks
on net and move it quick,” said
sophomore defenseman Nick
Blankenburg on Oct. 25. “Film
has been a big thing for us that
we’ve been doing is watching
how other teams are scoring
goals on power plays. I think we
find areas to score through film
and whatnot and just seeing
what’s open.”
The transition hasn’t gone
perfectly.
Michigan
has
six power-play goals on 34
opportunities though its first
eight games — good for a 17.6
percent conversion rate with
a man advantage, which ranks
No. 28 of 60 teams in the
country.
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
has said he cares
more
about
when the power-
play
goals
come than the
percentage
at
which the units
convert,
but
eight games in,
neither
metric
is reflecting the
performance
Pearson
would
like to see.
In Saturday’s game at Ohio
State,
the
Wolverines
had
two power plays in the third
period while trailing by a goal.
Michigan notched a combined
three
shots
across
both
opportunities, and only one of
those shots came directly in
front of the net.
“We’ve gotta find something
that
works,
because
these
games are coming down to
one goal and special teams are
so important,” Pearson said.
“We’ve lost the special teams
battle in the last three games.
We’ve lost every game.”
Both units have seen their
personnel change depending
on health and the different
line
combinations
Pearson
puts
together.
Freshman
defenseman
Cam
York
has
solidified himself on the top
unit, as has fifth-year forward
Jacob Hayhurst. But everything
else is in flux — including the
system itself.
At the beginning of the
season, both groups featured
a lone defenseman and four
forwards.
Now,
sophomore
defensemen Jack Summers and
Nick Blankenburg are usually
sent with the second unit
alongside three forwards.
On
Friday,
it
was
that
second unit that produced the
weekend’s lone power-play goal
for the Wolverines.
“I think most teams are kinda
transitioning toward (having
two looks) because then you
have to study two different
types of film,” said senior
forward Nick Pastujov. “Like
for Ohio State, for instance,
the way we studied them was
the first and second unit, they
run two different things, so
your
(penalty
kill)
always
has
to
kinda
kill
differently
against the two
and sometimes
you can get out
of sorts if you
get confused.
“It just gives
that extra little
edge where if
we give them
two different looks, they might
not catch on as fast and we
might be able to catch them.”
While Michigan works to
find the successful formula
for both power-play units, the
systems and the personnel will
be fluid. But as the Wolverines
study the NHL to figure things
out, they may find just the right
thing to copy.
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan hockey team has looked to the National Hockey League for help with its struggling power play.
Part of our job
is to develop
players to the
(NHL).
We’ve gotta
find something
that works (on
the power play).
What Slaker’s injury
absence meant for ‘M’
There
was
a
heightened
sense of urgency at Yost Ice
Arena late Tuesday afternoon.
Throughout
practice,
voices
were louder, whistles more
purposeful,
huddles
more
frequent, and then, to top it
off, the Michigan hockey team
closed out with intense goal-
line-to-goal-line conditioning.
The Wolverines are coming
off three road losses. First,
a 4-1 loss to then-No. 18
Western Michigan in a hostile
environment, where the team
fell behind moments after the
puck drop. And last weekend
Michigan got swept by No. 9
Ohio State, losing both affairs
by
one
goal
and
looking
somewhat out of sorts.
“There’s not much room for
mistakes right now, especially
coming off three losses,” said
senior forward Will Lockwood.
“Attention to detail is huge.
I think our coaches are just
holding us accountable to that.”
Finding the root cause of
the losses is challenging, as
each game was unique. One
commonality, though, is that
senior forward Jake Slaker was
absent due to an undisclosed
injury. Last season, he tallied
25 points. He looks suited to
return this weekend for the
home series against Minnesota,
but over the last two weekends,
his absence made a mark.
Offensive
struggles
were
quite apparent in the recent
series. The Wolverines couldn’t
keep control of the puck in the
attacking zone and thus had a
hard time generating consistent
scoring
chances.
Lockwood
notes that with the chances
they did get, capitalizing was a
hurdle.
Slaker sees himself as a vocal,
high-energy player for whom
speed is a key asset. While it’s
unlikely he would’ve solved all
of Michigan’s problems, that
skill set could have provided
the offense a key burst.
“Just from knowing him
well he’s a natural goalscorer,”
Lockwood
said.
“Even
in
practice recently, he’s been
lighting up our goalies pretty
much all practice, and I think
when he comes back he’s gonna
be hungry. He hasn’t scored
yet, but he’s someone who can
put the puck in the net at ease.
So I think those one-goal games
could have been different if he
were in the lineup.”
Watching from the sidelines
is something new for Slaker.
He was a contributor ever since
joining the program, and in his
first three years missed just one
game. Missing extended time
has taken some getting used to.
“It’s
definitely
tough,
especially after the last few
games,”
Slaker
said.
“We
haven’t won, so it’s tough not to
be able to be out there and try to
help the team come out with a
win or something. But there’s a
lot of learning you can do from
watching the games.”
Slaker hasn’t watched many
hockey games, only tape. Sitting
out lets him weigh what works
well for other players with what
doesn’t, and he understands
this could improve his own
game.
Off the ice, Slaker has made
sure to stay involved with the
team. He was quick to offer his
thoughts on the Wolverines’
play.
“I
know
Slaker
was
critiquing,”
Lockwood
said.
“He’d come in between periods
and say this and that, and after
games
he’d
have
different
opinions on things because
you kind of get a different
perspective when you’re up in
the stands, and you can see the
game a little bit better. So he
had a lot of insight to that and
it was a good help to the team.”
As
an
alternate
captain,
Slaker
continues
to
be
outspoken while not playing.
He’s central to team meetings
and
always
tries
to
give
his
teammates
the
energy
and advice that they need.
Regardless, Michigan prefers
having him on the ice.
“He’s a big leader for our
team, and he brings a lot
to the table offensively and
defensively,” Lockwood said.
“To have a senior leader out of
the lineup always hurts you.
We look forward to him coming
back.”
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Senior forward Jake Slaker plans to return from injury this weekend.