Michigan Football: 4 Wolverines who need to be alphas in 2020

Nico

Following a freshman season that saw him catch just three passes, Nico Collins has hauled in 75 the past two seasons for Michigan football which ended up going for 1,361 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Those numbers are good. But Collins, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound beast, is capable of much, much more. Last season, against Indiana, he caught six passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns in his best game as a Wolverine.

It’s that kind of performance Michigan needs from Collins more often. Shea Patterson‘s accuracy issues didn’t help and neither did the lack of jump ball attempts given to Collins, which need to increase this season regardless of who the quarterback is.

Collins wins a lot of those battles and he’s performed against elite teams. In 2018, he caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State, then had five receptions for 80 yards versus Florida in the Peach Bowl.

Now that Donovan Peoples-Jones has graduated, Collins is the No. 1. He’s the top guy on deep balls and in the red zone and anything less than 1,000 yards this season and 50-60 receptions would be a disappointment.

Michigan hasn’t had a wideout picked in the first or second round since Devin Funchess and it’d be great to see Collins change that.