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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With Michigan set to open the 2020 season at Minnesota on Saturday night, one of the biggest curiosities is what the offense will look like.
Yes, there’s a lot of enthusiasm surrounding Wolverines third-year quarterback Joe Milton and all of the tangibles he brings to the table, but who will be out there catching the ball? Michigan has no shortage of capable receivers, even though the unit has been somewhat depleted from a year ago. While the trio of Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black had been tantalizing in terms of their talent for years, with them now gone, they pass the torch to multiple, speedier options that provide a different type of capability of stretching the field.
Jim Harbaugh broke down the unit on Monday in his weekly press conference, sharing why he’s encouraged by the group and who will be making the trip to Minneapolis this week for game one.
“Receiver-wise, the receivers have been really good,” Harbaugh said. “And a lot of them, a lot of good receivers. One of the really good things about our offense’s growth has been the receiving group. Their ability to get separation, to gain separation, to increase separation and to make contested catches.
“And a lot of guys – Ronnie Bell, Mike Sainristil, Roman Wilson, Giles Jackson, Cornelius Johnson doing extremely well. Jake McCurry, A.J. Henning, Nate Schoenle – those are the receivers we’re going into the ball game with. Feel really good about all of them.”
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While the only player above that has starting experience is Ronnie Bell, the maize and blue are particularly excited about the prospects of Giles Jackson and the two true freshmen in A.J. Henning and Roman Wilson.
But Harbaugh’s omission of Nico Collins from that group is particularly glaring.
Collins announced shortly after the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Alabama that he would be returning for his senior year, but he quietly signed with an agent and left the team when there was uncertainty in the late-summer about whether or not the Big Ten would have a season at all.
Since, he’s made no announcement as to his intentions — like Jalen Mayfield had before he opted back in, as Ambry Thomas did about his departure and Kwity Paye alluded to about returning. Meanwhile teammates have contended that he’s ‘still unsure,’ leaving some to be optimistic that he could be a part of the team.
While Harbaugh threw some cold water on the idea that Collins could suit up sometime in the coming weeks, he didn’t altogether close the door on his potential return down the road.
“Nico is not participating in football right now,” Harbaugh said. “And I don’t have a crystal ball if his mind would change or not, but he’s not currently on the team.”
Collins’ participation in classes at this juncture are unknown, but it appears unlikely that he’s still enrolled in the university. If that’s the case, he’s likely played his final down for the Wolverines this past January.
Michigan will take its receiving corps to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota on Saturday night, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be nationally broadcast on ABC.