Collins On Gattis' Move: 'Momentum On The Sidelines Was Totally Different'
Michigan Wolverines football junior wideout Nico Collins and redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone joined Jon Jansen on today's 'In the Trenches' podcast to discuss the Rutgers victory and give a brief preview of the challenges Iowa will present on Saturday.
Collins also talked about how important it was to start fast against the Scarlet Knights, while McGrone recapped his first career start.
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Junior receiver Nico Collins
"Coach [Josh] Gattis was on the field with us and you could tell the momentum on the sidelines was totally different. He was controlling things and asking us what we saw out there, instead of having other people translate it.
"It was just like in practice, with him yelling at us from the sidelines.
"There's a lot of talent in our receiving room. We have us four [junior Donovan Peoples-Jones, redshirt sophomore Tarik Black and sophomore Ronnie Bell], [freshman] Mikey [Sainristil], [freshman] Cornelius [Johnson] and [freshman] Giles Jackson, so the future is bright in that room.
"We had a chip on our shoulder all of last week, and we were thinking touchdown as soon as we got the ball on Saturday — [senior quarterback] Shea [Patterson] found me on an out route and I took it to the house.
"I try to get the offense going, and the tempo and blocking from the o-line on the first play of the game was impressive.
"We've focused on ball security after Wisconsin, with less turnovers and other little details.
"We need to use this win we just had for momentum, and I feel like the preparation is going to be good. Coaches have a great game plan for us and we need to trust it.
"Iowa has a great defense with a great secondary and linebackers. We need to focus on us and how we can find holes in their defense.
"We're taking it game by game and not looking at last week, because it's in the past now. We don't like that feeling of losing anymore, so we want to see how we can change that."
Redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone
"I've been waiting for this [opportunity to start] for the past year, and to finally get my chance was great.
"It was a different feeling [running out of the tunnel], and I was just itching to get out there. I felt like back at home and knew what I could do and what I had to do, and felt like I could do anything in front of 100,000 people.
"I still prepared the same, but it's a different level of intensity knowing I'd have to be out there from the first snap and not sit on the sideline for the first few quarters.
"Staying locked in is the name of the game now, and you just have to go out there and play your game as soon as your number is called.
"When I started running and no one even looked at me [while rushing the quarterback], I figured it was bad news for this guy [Rutgers sophomore quarterback Artur Sitkowski]. It was an ode to the d-line and to Coach [Don] Brown for getting me free.
"Right before I made contact, I knew I had to stay low and not hit him too high.
"I did a lot of thinking last year and wasn't as fast as I could be because of it. Watching film and knowing what other offenses are going to do has made it a lot easier.
On Iowa...
"I want to fly around and be around the ball more, because I don't think I was around it as much as I could have been against Rutgers.
"I feel like my speed is one of my strongsuits, along with my power and play recognition. I can read my keys fast and get to where I need to be.
"We want to decrease Iowa's morale. They're similar to Wisconsin in that they want to run the ball and push it down your mouths, but I feel like we can do that right back to them."
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