[jwplayer BzLpEzD2-XNcErKyb]
This was the performance that many have been waiting for.
On Saturday, Michigan unleashed the weapon that is junior wide receiver Nico Collins to his full potential against Indiana.
Collins has been a deep threat throughout his career, but didn’t seem to get as many targets as other receiving options like Ronnie Bell and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Against the Hoosiers, however, Collins was targeted seven times, and the results were impressive.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound receiver finished with six catches for a career-high 165 yards and three touchdowns. It was a performance that impressed his teammates and coaches alike.
“Man, he’s a beast,” said linebacker Josh Uche. “I knew that, everyone in the organization knew that, but it’s like, anyone can be a practice All-American. But to see it come to fruition on game days – it’s magical. Just knowing what somebody’s capable of doing and then seeing them executing is great to see.”
Collins’ ability to go deep and out-jump cornerbacks was on display once again this Saturday. On two of his touchdown catches, quarterback Shea Patterson threw the ball high and trusted Collins to go it.
“Just Nico being Nico,” Patterson said. “That last one he went up and got it just like he did last week. He’s a playmaker, he finds the open space and it’s cool to see him take off.”
As a former quarterback himself, head coach Jim Harbaugh knows the luxury of having a receiving threat with the size, length and leaping ability Collins possesses.
“He is high-pointing the ball as well as you can,” Harbaugh said. “Doing a tremendous job on the posts – high-pointing those balls and getting separation. He’s just doing a lot of great things as a receiver.”
Yards-after-catch hasn’t often been a big part of Collins’ game, but he flashed that ability as well on his other touchdown.
The play design from offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was excellent. Collins was stacked behind Bell at the line of scrimmage. Bell ran a curl route, while Collins ran a deep slant behind Bell’s route toward the middle of the field. Both cornerbacks went with Bell, leaving Collins wide open, and after the safety took a bad angle and missed a tackle, Collins was off to the races for 76 yards.
“It was kind of like a game-time adjustment,” Collins said. “As the game went on, we found ways to attack the defense and that’s what we did. …Going to the sideline, Gattis asked us what we see out there, what play is working, and we told him. He trusted in us, made those adjustments and [we went] out there and made those plays.”
As said, the 165 yards and three touchdowns were single-game career highs for Collins. He’s been a consistent threat this season, but on Saturday against the Hoosiers, the junior flashed every tool in his arsenal to put on a memorable performance.
“Nico was just ridiculous out there today. Great game for Nico Collins,” Harbaugh said. “It was good to get Nico on some crossing routes, some slant routes, some deep ends. He’s very good at it, he’s a very big target to throw [at], big catch radius. His assortment of routes that he’s running has clicked up quite a bit and he’s coming through.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]