The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 45 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE knows that Collins has a lot to work on, but he believes it will all come together in Ann Arbor. "He can always improve from a technical standpoint," Hood said. "He's a good blocker, but he needs to get better to be great at it. He's a good route runner, but he needs to clean that up at the top of his routes. He can get more explosive after catching the ball. "He does a great job at all of those things in high school, but to compete on that level at Michigan those are the things he'll need to concentrate on. They'll see what they need to see and will do what it takes to get him going." Once he became an every-down contributor at Clay-Chalkville as a sophomore, Collins had three mas- sive seasons during his prep career. He had 39 catches for 805 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore, reeled in 60 catches for 1,103 yards and 16 scores as a junior, and totaled 43 catches for 865 yards and nine touchdowns during his final cam- paign this past fall. Collins' dip in production as a se- nior is one of the reasons he went from five-star status down to four stars, but he's a big, tall, fast receiver who can be a dominant player, and Michigan won a major recruiting battle by landing him. ❏ STATISTICS • Had 43 catches for 865 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. He also snared two interceptions defensively. • As a junior, Collins tallied 60 catches for 1,103 yards and 16 touch- downs. • Posted 39 catches for 805 yards and 15 TDs as a sophomore on the Di- vision 6A state championship squad. HONORS • First-team Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 6A All-State selec- tion as a senior and a second-team choice as a junior and a sophomore. • USA Today All-USA Alabama sec- ond-team pick as a senior. • Birmingham News All-Metro first- team performer as a senior, junior and sophomore. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Was invited to Nike's The Opening Finals in Beaverton, Ore., in 2016. He did not do the testing, but partici- pated in 7 on 7s. • Selected for the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game; he started and made two catches for eight yards in the game. • Also played in the Polynesian Bowl Jan. 21 and roomed with fellow U-M signee Kurt Taylor in Hawai'i. • Attended Rivals Camp Series Atlanta in 2015. RECRUITMENT • Committed Feb. 1, 2017. • Officially visited Georgia (Jan. 27), LSU (Dec. 2) and Michi- gan (Nov. 5). Also took four unofficial visits to U-M through- out his process. • After being a Michigan lean for much of his recruitment, Georgia made a late charge, but ultimately fell short of sway- ing him away from the Maize and Blue. • Head coach Jim Harbaugh and newly hired passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton really picked up the pace on Collins' recruitment after former coaches Jedd Fisch and Tyrone Wheatley moved on to different jobs. NOTABLE • Born March 19, 1999. 2017 PROJECTION Collins, like every other wide re- ceiver commit, will have a chance to show the coaching staff that he belongs on the field as a freshman. With Amara Darboh and Jehu Ches- son no longer at U-M, some com- bination of young receivers will have to fill the void. At 6-4 and 201 pounds, Collins certainly has envi- able size and could prove to be wor- thy of playing time as a freshman. THEY SAID IT Rivals.com Southeast Recruiting Analyst Woody Wommack: "Col- lins is very impressive and uses his length and leaping ability to give smaller defensive backs fits. He runs good routes and is consistent catching the ball, especially when it matters most in the red zone. Once he can add some more weight to his long frame, he will be even tougher for defenders to deal with." Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell: "The receiver group [Michigan signed] is impressive with Nico Collins added now. He's high on potential but needs some work on consistency. He brings size to the group, and it's a well-balanced mixture." Offensive Coordinator/Line Coach Tim Drevno: "Nico is a very, very fluid football player. He's extremely explosive and has great quickness coming off the ball. He's another receiver with size, but his size is exceptional at 6-4. He does a good job seeing the ball all the way through and has a re- ally good football awareness. We think Nico is going to be a great fit in our offense." NIC0 COLLINS WIDE RECEIVER 6-4 • 201 CLAY-CHALKVILLE H.S. BIRMINGHAM, ALA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 120 17 6 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 178 24 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 200 29 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 150 21 5 U-M OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TIM DREVNO "His size is exceptional at 6-4. … We think Nico is going to be a great fit in our offense." Collins finished his prep career with 142 catches for 2,773 yards and 40 touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM