Nico Collins Says Wolverines 'Have To Keep Fighting'
Michigan Wolverines junior wide receiver Nico Collins met with the media after practice Tuesday night, and said there's still a lot to play for in the final five games of the regular season. He looked back at the 28-21 loss to Penn State last week, what went right at times and what went wrong.
Collins addressed the questionable offensive pass interference call on him early in the game.
"I feel like it was a terrible call," Collins said. "We were both competing for it, and I ended up with it but it was on him. It is what it is.
"I saw it in slow motion. It was terrible. It was kind of just like we were both competing for it. It wasn’t anything like an extension of the arm. He was pulling on me, I was kind of pulling on him.
"It kinda gets hard because a play like that is very explosive. If we would’ve got that we would’ve been on the 15-yard line in a position to score. So, we had to park it all the way back to where we were."
Collins led U-M in receiving on the night with six receptions for 89 yards. U-M had a productive game through the air, with senior quarterback Shea Patterson throwing for 276 yards. Collins acknowledged that drops by the receiving corps need to be cleaned up in order to be even more productive.
"We gotta catch it," Collins said bluntly. "As receivers, we catch the ball. That's our job.
"It had nothing to do with the environment. We gotta have those. Those drops were big time drops.
"We're focusing on that this week, just focusing on the details and catching the ball. You gotta look the ball in if you're a receiver, watch it all the way in through contact."
When asked about Patterson and his performance last week that Jim Harbaugh called "heroic," Collins said that he's completely behind his quarterback.
"Each game Shea is getting better and better," Collins said. "Early in the season, he had a couple turnovers. And he learned from it. Turnovers are kinda hard.
"We have Shea’s back right now. He’s the quarterback. We all trust in Shea. He believes in us and so we’re gonna have his back 100 percent."
U-M dug itself out of a 21-0 hole and had a chance on the final offensive possession to tie the game, but failed to convert. Collins said that it took an extra effort to battle back.
"We were losing, and we really wanted to win that game," Collins said. "We dug deep and put all our effort out there on the field. We came up short, but the effort was there.
"Everybody on the offense, defense, the whole sideline was into it. We were motivating each other, and it paid off but we just came up short."
Notre Dame is the central focus of the U-M team, Collins said, saying that the response to this adversity is really what matters.
"We gotta focus on this game," he said. "It’s Notre Dame week so that’s our only focus right now.
"Notre Dame is a big rivalry. They’re coming here, night time. It’s a big game, so we’ll see who really wants it more."
Collins was asked about former U-M wide receiver and current assistant wide receivers coach Roy Roundtree, who caught the game winning catch against Notre Dame in 2011. He said that the players see the picture of the catch every day, and that Roundtree talks about it from time to time.
"It was a big time play by him," Collins said. "That’s something he’s gonna talk about the rest of his life."
Collins was asked whether or not he envisions himself making a big play like that in such a big game.
"All the time," Collins responded. "You have to do that every game, no matter who it is. I picture myself out there making big plays. You have to picture it. You have to visualize yourself out there making big plays for the team."
There is no concrete definition of success around the building after U-M has lost two conference games, making it even tougher to win the Big Ten. But, there is a lot left to play for in the season's final stretch.
"There’s still a lot of season left," Collins insisted. "We got two losses right now, so we just have to keep fighting. The season’s not done. We still have five games left. So, it's game by game."
Despite the loss, the receiver is keeping a mindset of looking forward to the challenges ahead.
"We’re still coming together as a unit," Collins said. "We’re building off the loss. We’ll see how we’re going to respond from it.
"In life, you’re going to face adversity and you have to respond to it. Are you going to lay down or keep going?"
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