Michigan Star WR Explains Why He Left Team

Just because we will all get to see the return of Big Ten football this weekend does not mean we will see all of the faces we expected to return this year.

Unfortunately, for the University of Michigan, perhaps, no Big Ten program feels this more than the Wolverines as star wide receiver from a year ago, Nico Collins, will not be suiting up for Big Blue this year after opting out of his senior season.

As a junior in 2019, Collins led the Wolverines' receiving attack in touchdowns and hauled in the second-most receiving yards with 729 on a team-high 19.7 yards per catch. And for a team who will be starting a new quarterback from a season ago, likely Joe Milton or Cade McNamara, after losing Shea Patterson, Collin's presence in that receiving corps will be sorely missed.

Collins opened up on Adam Schefter's podcast this Tuesday about his decision to opt-out of the 2020 season, citing that when he made this decision shortly after the Big Ten had announced its cancellation of this season, he felt as though he was in "no-man's land."

Collins also attributed much of his decision to the fact that the Big Ten seemingly left too much indecision of its own on the table after canceling the year that he had intended to return.

While it's too early to predict exactly where Collins' talent projects to carry him come the 2021 NFL Draft , his immediate absence in Ann Arbor will be tough to overcome in such a bizarre and shortened season. This is especially true as the Wolverines open the year on the road in Minneapolis against a solid Minnesota team as 3.5-point road favorites over the Gophers, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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David Hayes is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David Hayes also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username DavidWHayes. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.