The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998636
76 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW WIDE RECEIVERS 76 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW WIDE RECEIVERS PLAYER BIOS POSITION COACH Jim McElwain is in his first year as the wide re- ceivers coach for the Wolverines. He joins the program after spend- ing two-plus seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators from 2015-17. He brings 33 years of coaching experience to Jim Har- baugh's staff. He has worked with eight NCAA programs and one NFL team, and served as a head coach for the last five-plus seasons. During his time at Florida, McElwain helped pro- duce consistent success for the Gators, generating a 22-12 record. He led Florida to SEC East division titles in both 2015 and 2016, becoming the first coach in league history to direct his team to the conference title game in both of his first two sea- sons. In his first season as the Gators head coach, the team increased its win total by four games from the previous year. This was the third-largest jump in one year for a UF team in the last 32 seasons. This helped McElwain earn 2015 SEC Coach of the Year honors, making him the first coach in program his- tory to garner the award in his first season. Before taking over at Florida, McElwain was the head coach at Colorado State for three seasons, where he was named Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2014. He went 22-16 overall with the Rams, coaching them to a pair of bowl games. He also spent time at Alabama from 2008-11 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and helped the program win BCS national champion- ships in 2009 and 2011. Prior to his tenure at Alabama, he held the same position at Fresno State, helping the Bulldogs to a bowl win over Georgia Tech and a 9-4 overall re- cord. In 2006, after finishing three years of assistant head coaching duties at Michigan State, he worked as quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders. From 2000-02, McElwain helped lead Louisville to three straight bowl appearances while working as wide receivers and special teams coach with the Cardinals. Before his time at Louisville, he was the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and receivers coach for Montana State. McElwain began his coaching career at Washing- ton State, where he started as a graduate assistant before eventually becoming quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. RETURNING PLAYERS TARIK BLACK • WR R-Fr. • Hamden, Conn. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 206 Career Highlights: Played in the first three games in 2017 before suffering a foot injury that ended his season … Caught 11 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown … Had a career-high five receptions against Air Force Sept. 16. Prep: Made 32 catches for 615 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, and also notched one rush- ing score … Named to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class A All-New England football team all four years of high school … Se- lected to USA Today's All-USA Connecticut first team following his junior and senior seasons … Hauled in 30 catches for 610 yards and eight touchdowns his junior season … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 1 player in Connecticut, and the No. 11 wide receiver and No. 76 overall recruit nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Feb 10, 1998 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. Year GP/GS Rec. Yds. Avg. TD 2017 3/3 11 149 13.5 1 NICO COLLINS • WR So. • Birmingham, Ala. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 206 Career Highlights: Appeared in four games … Hauled in one pass for 12 yards against Rutgers … Set career highs with two catches for 15 yards in the Outback Bowl loss to South Carolina. Prep: Caught 46 passes for 895 yards and nine touchdowns his senior campaign … Named to the USA Today All-USA Alabama second team and earned Class 6A first-team All-State honors from the Alabama Sports Writers Association … As a junior, made 60 catches for 1,103 yards and 16 touchdowns, and was tabbed as a second-team Class 6A all-state selection … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 6 player in Alabama, and the No. 17 wide receiver and No. 120 overall recruit nation- ally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born March 19, 1999 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. OLIVER MARTIN • WR R-Fr. • Coralville, Iowa Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 198 Career Highlights: Did not see game action in 2017. Prep: Set the Iowa high school state record for catches in a career (239), and finished as the Class 4A leader in career receiving yards (3,449) and career receiv- ing touchdowns (33) … Caught 85 passes for 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns his senior season, and also scored on a punt return and a kickoff return … 2016 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year … Had 73 receptions for 1,187 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior … USA Today All-USA Iowa first-team pick as a junior and senior … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 1 player in Iowa, and the No. 35 wide receiver and No. 206 overall recruit nation- ally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Nov. 3, 1998 … Also excelled in swimming and baseball in high school … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Sophomore Nico Collins caught three passes for 27 yards in four games last year, including a pair of catches in the bowl game. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN