A product of Ohio mocks ex-Michigan wide receiver

Former Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins had a career-high nine receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown in the Houston Texans’ playoff-clinching victory over the Indianapolis Colts at the end of his third NFL season.

Ironically, the ex-Wolverine’s success is partly because to the performance of an Ohio State product, as he catches passes from Rookie of the Year favorite C.J. Stroud this season.

While their college football careers did not cross, rival school graduates may be in for some trash talk when Michigan takes the field for the CFP National Championship Game on Monday night.

“I’m focused on what I’ve got going on,” Stroud stated after the game on NFL on ESPN. “I’m not really paying attention to that.” Nico and I have reached an agreement. We don’t talk about it much because he never defeated us and I never beat them. But, gosh, it’s a shame he went there.”

Collins and Stroud have one of the closest on-field ties among young NFL players, despite spending their college days on opposing sides of the sport’s most passionate rivalry. Collins had his sixth 100-yard game of the breakout 2023 season on Saturday, and it didn’t take long for him and his quarterback to leave their mark on the triumph, as they combined for a 75-yard score on the Texans’ first offensive play from scrimmage.

Collins, a third-year player, is having his greatest NFL season to date. The Michigan product has 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 appearances and 10 starts, all of which are career highs. He’s rapidly established himself as the focal point of Stroud’s dynamic passing offense.

Meanwhile, Stroud took his excellent playmaking abilities from Ohio State to the NFL, posting one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory. In his first season, he led Houston to a postseason berth by completing 63.9% of his throws for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns against only five interceptions.

The teammates did not compete against each other at Michigan or Ohio State, but they did leave with great resumes.

Collins was a regular contributor to the Wolverines offense throughout his final two seasons, catching 37 and 38 receptions for 632 and 729 yards, respectively, in 2018 and 2019. As a junior, he led the team with seven touchdowns. Collins, a four-star high school prospect, was long seen as a potential future NFL contributor. The 6-foot-4 rangy wideout was a top-200 prospect and the No. 29 receiver in the 2017 class.

With a pair of excellent seasons in Columbus, Stroud became Ohio State’s only two-time Heisman Trophy contender. As a redshirt freshman, he led the best offense in the country and a top-10 unit the following year, combining to throw for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Stroud, a five-star prospect, was a higher-profile recruit than his Houston teammate, ranking 29th in the 2020 class and finished the cycle as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback.