Tag: Nico Collins

Nico Collins explosion showcases Michigan’s multiple weapons in the passing game

Michigan football has figured out the offense the past few weeks, and with today’s performance, their depth at wide receiver is deep.

[jwplayer D9wQpQCg-XNcErKyb]

All the off-season chatter of how explosive the wide receivers would be this season can finally be seen by everyone. The offense was struggling for the first five games of the season when it came to passing the football. Michigan was 4-1 with a close win against Army and got their only loss to Wisconsin. Michigan was coming off their 10-3 win over Iowa and head coach Jim Harbaugh had an interesting comment on the offensive performance in the close win against Iowa.

He said the offense was “hitting its stride.”

Hitting its stride after just putting up 10 measly points against Iowa? In a game where your defense won you the battle? Nobody believed what Harbaugh was saying. Now Harbaugh is laughing at everyone for doubting him.

Michigan would beat Illinois 42-25 in a close game, but the offense saw some explosive play and a pulse in the offense. Next week against Penn State, Michigan did lose 28-21, but the second half of that game has been the starting point of something special as Michigan has been dominant on the offensive side of the football.

Since the comment made by Harbaugh, Michigan has drastically reduced the number of turnovers they have had, with only five total in seven games. Turnovers were a major talking point early on in the season, but since then they have cleaned up their act.

Not only have the turnovers have gotten better, but the offense is putting up yards and they now average 439.5 yards and 38 points per game. How does that happen? Get your wide receivers involved and showcase the offense you hyped up all offseason long.

Today against Indiana, Michigan kept putting their foot on the gas and today’s star receiver was Nico Collins, who finished with six catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Last week it was wide receiver Ronnie Bell who blew up for over 100 yards. Wide receiver Giles Jackson has been getting more involved in the offense too, getting a catch for 50 yards today.

You can’t forget about the other stud wide receivers, Donovan Peoples-Jones had a phenomenal snag for a touchdown today, finishing with five catches for 73 yards and the lone score. Tarik Black had three catches for 30 yards and freshman Mike Sainristil had a beauty of a catch for 35 yards.

Michigan has weapons in the passing game and the depth behind the starting three wide receivers is deep. The youngsters have gotten involved in the offense this season and giving quarterback Shea Patterson just more options to throw to when on the field. With these receivers constantly getting some big games, it’s hard for Patterson to share the ball fairly between everyone.

Patterson has seen an increase in his play and part of that is because of the play by these wide receivers. They are creating separation and making big catches when needed. Earlier this season you couldn’t see much separation between them and the defenders. Now they are making the moves to get open, and catching the 50/50 balls and coming down with the grab.

This offense was led behind Patterson once again today and Collins just happened to be the lucky winner by constantly getting open and making plays when needed. All of the hype about “speed in space” from offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is finally showing. It’s here and dealing with some damage to its opponents. Now that Michigan has hit their stride on offense, can it continue into next week?

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

5 Takeaways from Michigan’s 39-14 win against Indiana

Michigan football won big 39-14 against Indiana. What are the five biggest takeaways from the win over the Hoosiers?

[jwplayer D9wQpQCg-XNcErKyb]

Coming off the big 44-10 win over Michigan State, the big challenge headed into this week was Indiana. While Indiana was the main focus, another talking point was to see if Michigan could focus on the Hoosiers without looking ahead to Ohio State as they play them next week. The two teams traded blows to start the game out, but Michigan would gain the lead before halftime and never looked back, winning 39-14.

The offense was able to pass all over the Indiana defense as again the running game played second fiddle in the offense. The defense took some time to figure out Indiana’s offense, but they were able to shut their attack down and make it difficult for them to score more than twice.

Check out my five takeaways from the 39-14 win over Indiana.

1. Michigan’s passing game had its way today

Last week, Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson had his best game ever at Michigan as he threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. This week, Patterson had another good game in the air, going 20/32 for 366 yards with five touchdowns, and an interception. He had a lot of time in the pocket for most of the game, and when he faced pressure he was able to escape it most of the time and keep the play alive.

You can just tell that Patterson is more comfortable in the offense than he was earlier this season. He trusts his receivers to make plays, his offensive lineman to block, and his running backs to get yards on the ground. He is making throws he wasn’t earlier this year and slinging the ball further down the field.

2. Running isn’t the main goal anymore

Speaking of the offense, the old-time Michigan offense that was known for running the rock, getting the yards on the ground and grinding for first downs, seems to have gotten a shakeup. Michigan threw the ball more than running the ball and while that’s happened many times before, it feels different these past few weeks.

Michigan is turning away from a run-first attack and more of a pass-first attack. We’ve seen less read-option plays by the offense and fewer runs up the middle by the running backs. With those decreasing, we’ve seen an increase in passing the ball deep and making big chunk plays.

Michigan’s offense has adapted and is changing with the times. It seems that the days of the ground and pound offense are behind them, and they will attack through the air and fake you out with different RPO plays. Nine different receivers caught a pass today as multiple people were used in the passing attack, led by wide receiver Nico Collins who had six catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

3. Poor PEnalties returned

Michigan had some early penalty issues against Michigan State last week, but they were corrected as the game progressed. This week, Michigan had more penalty problems as they had five penalties in the first half, six overall for 49 yards. The penalties helped Indiana out early on and helped them move down the field, and stopped Michigan on one drive.

Get rid of the penalties, Michigan might stop Indiana from scoring on one of the two drives. Those drives kept Indiana in the game until the second quarter when Michigan got the lead for the first time. If those penalties kept Indiana in the game, they will keep Ohio State in the game next week. Those need to get cleaned up and fast.

4. Giles Jackson getting more involved

The Michigan offense has evolved as the season has progressed and more players have gotten involved as it’s grown. First, it was running back Hassan Haskins, then it was wide receiver Ronnie Bell, now it’s wide receiver Giles Jackson. To start the season, Jackson was mostly a kick returner and was used as a receiver late in games that Michigan already had a grip on the lead.

The past few weeks though we’ve seen him more involved with the offense on jet sweeps, option plays, and passing plays. Today Jackson saw a different spot as he was lined up as a running back next to Patterson, he ran a wheel route and caught a 50-yard pass. He is getting used in different ways on this offense and is a weapon wherever he is.

Having someone fast like Jackson used in different ways is helpful to shake up the offense as he can be used in multiple ways and can be a distraction to the defenses they go up against. His versatility can be dangerous for opposing defenses and something Ohio State will need to watch out for.

5. Michigan didn’t overlook Indiana

Speaking of Ohio State, Michigan didn’t look through Indiana and had their attention on Ohio State. Michigan treated Indiana like they should have, an opponent that can be dangerous. Michigan did have some mistakes as every game there are some, but they weren’t because they were surprised by Indiana.

The past four years Michigan has had close games against Indiana, winning all four games by less than 14 points, once in overtime and the other in double overtime. Michigan knew Indiana would put up a fight and wouldn’t let them think about Ohio State yet. Michigan had their sights set on beating the Hoosiers and they did just that.

The offense had a solid performance as the defense struggled at first, but was able to figure things out after the first half. Michigan wanted to beat Indiana and they did just that, beat Indiana. Now that the goal of the week has been completed, it’s onto Ohio State next week.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

Halftime Analysis of No. 13 Michigan vs Indiana

Michigan football is up 21-14 against Indiana today at halftime. How are the Wolverines playing as they hold the seven-point lead?

[jwplayer D9wQpQCg-XNcErKyb]

After their big 44-10 win over Michigan State last week, Michigan had to travel to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers as they look to try and avoid the trap as Ohio State is looming in the background.

The trap started out as one as Indiana drove down the field against the Wolverines and scored off a one-yard touchdown run by running back Stevie Scott. Quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 4/5 for 39 yards and had 13 rushing yards on the drive as he was confident attacking the Wolverines defense.

Michigan wouldn’t be phased by the early score from Indiana, as quarterback Shea Patterson was perfect on the drive, going 7/7 for 79 yards and a six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ronnie Bell, his first this season after he’s been struggling to get in the end zone.

Indiana would struggle on their next drive as Ramsey got hit as he threw and safety Daxton Hill, who is starting for the first time this season, intercepted the ball. Michigan wouldn’t move much on their drive and would end up punting the football.

After the interception, Indiana would have another solid drive that went 52 yards on seven plays as Ramsey got into the endzone on a one-yard quarterback sneak to give Indiana the lead once again.

Michigan didn’t let them enjoy the lead for long as once again Patterson helps drive the team down the field. Running back Zach Charbonnet got his first carry for 22 yards to open the field, but Patterson overthrew on two easy touchdown passes. He would want the tough touchdown as he threw a beautiful 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones who made a wonderful catch as well. Michigan ties it up at 14.

After three straight punts, two by Indiana and one by Michigan, the Wolverines would break the punt spell as Patterson just threw up an 18-yard pass to wide receiver Nico Collins that would be caught for a touchdown as Collins just used his size to dominate the defender and give Michigan the 21-14 lead, their first of the day.

POSITIVES:

  • Michigan’s passing game is working well once again. Patterson is 13/18 for 176 yards and three touchdowns. Earlier in the year, we saw a more run-first approach for the Wolverines offense as they seemed to adjust to their old playstyle. Now the offense seems to have switched to a pass-first approach as Patterson is playing his best football this season.
  • The wide receivers for Michigan are getting open against the Indiana secondary. On two of the incomplete passes by Patterson, he overthrew two wide-open receivers for touchdowns. The Indiana secondary is having trouble covering the multiple weapons from Michigan as they don’t know what else they can do.

NEGATIVES:

  • Michigan has five penalties so far today for 44 yards. While the yards aren’t much, they have hurt themselves on defense with two penalties in the secondary. On offense, a false start and an intentional grounding forced Michigan to punt on their second possession. Special teams even got a penalty as tight end Erik All was taunting. Just mistakes everywhere by the team that is only helping Indiana stay in this game.
  • Michigan hasn’t had much success when running the football so far, as the team has 16 carries for 56 yards. The longest run as been by Charbonnet who got off a 22-yard run. Besides that big gain, it’s been tough getting yards on the ground for the Wolverines.
  • Punter Will Hart is having his worst game of the season so far today. He has three punts for just 94 yards with his longest being 39 yards. The poor punts gave Indiana some good field position when they came back onto the field on two of the three punts. His third punt was his best so far today, so maybe he has figured out his issues.
Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

5 potential Chargers prospects to watch in Week 13

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the college prospects you should be watching on Saturday.

It’s Saturday, which means it’s time for another edition of The Scouting Notebook.

The Scouting Notebook features prospects to keep an eye on when the majority of the college games take place. While some think it’s too early to talk about the 2020 NFL draft, there’s never a bad time to talk about the future of the Chargers.

With that being said, here are five prospects to watch for in Week 13.

CB Shaun Wade, Ohio State, #24, 9:00 a.m. PT, FOX

The Chargers haven’t added a true playmaker at the cornerback position since signing Casey Hayward back in 2017. While Michael Davis has been decent this season, the team could look to replace him with a long-term solution, who has plenty of talent.

Wade, the 6-foot-1 and 190 pounder, primarily plays in the slot for the Buckeyes. For someone of his size, it’s a little unusual but he has the speed and athleticism to thrive on the outside in the NFL. The redshirt sophomore has the read and react skills from zone coverage that defensive coordinator Gus Bradley would covet.

Today, Wade will be under the microscope of many NFL evaluators as he and Ohio State battle it out with the Penn State Nittany Lions in a top-10 matchup on Saturday morning.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

5 Players to Watch Against Indiana

Michigan Football is looking to avoid getting upset from Indiana this week. Here are the five impact players ahead of this week’s game.

[jwplayer pKme5Ink-XNcErKyb]

Michigan has a big challenge this week in the Indiana Hoosiers. As the Wolverines are coming off a big 44-10 win over rival Michigan State, and with Ohio State coming up after Indiana, the Hoosiers are stuck in the middle which means they could be overlooked on the schedule. Indiana isn’t a pushover either, as they only lost to Penn State 34-27 last week and have been impressive all season long.

Indiana is 7-3 and has a chance to go to a solid bowl game this year if they can win one or two more games. Beating Michigan would be a huge boost for the Hoosiers as they could be looked like a more serious threat in the world of college football.

Before kickoff happens on Saturday, check out the five players you should pay attention too once the game starts.

1. WR Ronnie Bell – MICHIGAN

The biggest surprise of the 2019 season for the Michigan football team has been the emergence of wide receiver Ronnie Bell as the number one wide receiver on the team. Last week he had a career-best game, getting nine catches for 150 yards against Michigan State. Bell leads the team in catches and yards with 36 for 610 yards this season.

With more eyes getting locked on him by opposing defenses, Bell could be facing stricter coverage beginning this week and that could change up his production. Indiana could have some troubles containing the wide receiver, but with many other weapons on the Wolverines offense, they might have to deal with him in just single coverage.

For Indiana’s offense, their quarterback who is an underrated threat…
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Ronnie Bell’s 2019 season showing he’s the true number one WR

Michigan football wide receiver Ronnie Bell had a career game against MSU today, showing he’s the top threat in the passing game.

[jwplayer FB3igr7O-XNcErKyb]

Ann Arbor, MI — Last year, freshman wide receiver Ronnie Bell wasn’t a part of the plans for Michigan as they planned to have wide receiver Tarik Black back from his season-ending injury from last season. That plan was derailed as he would have a similar injury happen to him before the season started, and he would miss the first half of the 2018 season.

With that said, Bell moved up in the depth chart, but he didn’t see much action until late against Nebraska when he caught a 56-yard touchdown pass. He would get involved with the offense minorly, only getting eight catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Headed into 2019 the storyline at wide receiver was the same as it was headed into the 2018 season. The talk was mostly about Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Tarik Black and how those three could thrive under new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ offense in his speed in space attack.

The addition of freshman wide receivers Giles Jackson, Cornelius Johnson, and Mike Sainristil also overshadowed Bell. He was lost in the mix to begin the season, but he certainly wasn’t forgotten about.

While he was quiet in the season opener, Bell had a solid game against Army, getting seven catches for 81 yards. It was after that game you started to see some kind of connection with quarterback Shea Patterson and Bell.

“Over the past few weeks, think we developed a certain kind of chemistry,” Patterson said. “I just think we play well together.” Patterson then credited Peoples-Jones, Bell, and all the other receivers for creating plays when he gets pushed out of the pocket and says it’s like backyard football at that point.

The connection between the two was huge today against MSU, as Bell finished with a career-best nine catches for 150 yards. Despite him putting up big numbers this week, he once again couldn’t find the endzone, something he hasn’t done this year despite being the top receiver on the team.

“That’s weird,” Patterson said. “I think he had 150 (yards) today. Just as far as his production and playmaking abilities, I think that makes up for not having a touchdown, but yea I didn’t even know that.”

While Patterson thought it was weird that Bell hasn’t seen the end zone yet, Bell knows he will get in there sooner or later.

“Yea, I don’t know if there hasn’t been a time yet where I came back to the sideline, like 20 seconds to go let me know like I still ain’t got in there,” Bell laughed. “It hurts every time, but it’s alright I’m a get in there.”

Bell is proving to not only the coaches but to the fans, especially the ones that turned their back on him after the drop against Penn State. He is more than just a depth wide receiver, he can be a top threat in this offense.

So far this season, Bell is the leading receiver with 36 catches for 610 yards. Collins is tied for second in catches with Peoples-Jones, but Collins has 25 for 484 yards and four touchdowns. Peoples-Jones has his 25 catches for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Black has 21 catches for 284 yards and a touchdown.

The way Bell has been able to get involved with this offense and rebound after that huge drop is something special. The same people who were booing Bell and sending horrible things his way, probably were quiet today and maybe even cheering for him.

Bell is having a career-best year so far, and it could certainly open the door in his final two years at Michigan. So while Peoples-Jones, Collins, and Black get all the attention, Bell is quietly having himself a season he will never forget. Another year under this offense will be huge for Bell and if he can continue the trend from this season, he could be the top threat once again in 2020.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

Halftime Analysis of Michigan State vs No. 15 Michigan

It’s halftime for Michigan football as they are up 17-7 against Michigan State at the break. What’s working and what isn’t so far?

[jwplayer UuzdrdJQ-XNcErKyb]

Ann Arbor, MI — Coming off their bye week last week, Michigan had an extra week to prepare for the Michigan State Spartans. That extra week seemed to have not been enough for the Wolverines as they started the game poorly with three penalties in less than five minutes. They could clean their act up as the game progressed, but it wasn’t a pretty start for the Wolverines.

After both teams traded punts, Michigan would get a drive going and land at the 40-yard line on fourth down. After an incomplete pass from quarterback Shea Patterson to wide receiver Nico Collins, MSU would get the football and have a solid drive led by their quarterback Brian Lewerke.

Lewerke would find wide receiver Cody White on fourth and one as he would go 29 yards before being tackled at the one. The next play Lewerke found fullback Max Rosenthal on a one-yard touchdown pass as MSU took the 7-0 lead.

Michigan wouldn’t let the score bother them as quarterback Shea Patterson started going on a tear as the offense opened up the playbook for their RPO. Big catches by wide receivers Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ronnie Bell helped move the ball down the field. Patterson went 4/4 on the drive for 48 yards as running back Hassan Haskins would finish the drive for a one-yard touchdown run as Michigan ties the game up 7-7.

Personal fouls by MSU killed their next drive as two on one play pushed them back and despite getting the first down, they would eventually punt back to Michigan. So far there have been three unsportsmanlike/personal penalties in this game, three by MSU, one by Michigan. This game is usually chippy so those numbers aren’t a surprise for either team.

Michigan would get the ball at their own two-yard line and in five minutes and 39 seconds and 12 plays later they would score as Patterson found tight end Nick Eubanks for the touchdown as Michigan took the 14-7 lead. Patterson made some nice reads on that drive, running the football and finding the correct man on the RPO’s.

MSU would stall out on offense again and Michigan would continue to strike. Patterson found Bell for a huge 42-yard catch to put Michigan inside the red zone. Michigan couldn’t find the end zone though as kicker Quinn Nordin would make the 28-yard field goal attempt as Michigan expanded their lead to 17-7. Nordin has been kicking every extra point and field goal so far today, so it looks like he has won the kicking job against Jake Moody.

POSITIVES:

  • Michigan’s offense started slow but have been using different types of RPO plays and plays where men are in motion. That is something we haven’t seen this season as that looks like some of Josh Gattis’ “speed in space” offense he was trying to bring to Michigan. Patterson has been playing great in it so far, going 14/21 for 182 yards and a touchdown along with three carries for eight yards.
  • Michigan has done well in keeping the MSU run game in check. Ignoring Lewerke’s runs, Michigan has held MSU to just 23 rushing yards on 12 attempts. MSU had some success last week running the rock but that isn’t the case so far this week.

NEGATIVES:

  • MSU is doing well at running RPO against the Wolverines defense. Michigan started to figure things out, but it has still been a threat to the Wolverines defense. Lewerke is 6/10 for 79 yards and a touchdown along with five carries for 16 yards. So far as he seems to be leading this offense down the field.
  • Penalties have been an early problem for Michigan as they had three in less than five minutes to start the game. So far they have had four for 41 yards and they have hurt the Wolverines greatly. They have improved at discipline in the past few weeks, but these are not what you want in this big rivalry game.
Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs