From the jump, Elijah Collins looked a stage more slow with more worse vision and strength as opposed to his freshman campaign. He looked like a an alternate player, and not to improve things.
It was clear something was up with Collins however the sophomore slump was broadly credited to him attempting to acclimate to the new training staff following two years in Mark Dantonio’s framework. Perhaps the trust simply wasn’t there yet.
That is to say, for what other reason would he go from almost 1,000 yards on 4.5 yards per convey as a redshirt green bean to only 90 yards on 41 endeavors as a sophomore?
It didn’t bode well, yet it’s normal for players to see drop-offs underway moving between various instructing staffs. Possibly Collins required a difference in view or the trust of the new staff. In any case, something was off.
Theory spun out of control all through the season as he resembled a shell of his previous self, yet he uncovered on Tuesday the justification his sophomore droop: he was hit hard by COVID-19.
This was known in the background, yet this simply demonstrates that occasionally players are battling for reasons that are out of their control. Never rush to pass judgment.
Last season was a gigantic special case for any player who battled. Much to our dismay that Collins had one of the most pessimistic scenarios of COVID-19 in the whole group and he just looked a stage more slow all season since he wasn’t 100%.
It makes you wonder which different players experienced comparative impacts.
How would we know for sure that the cost of COVID-19 was the explanation Collins battled in 2020? We couldn’t say whether that is the possibly factor, yet when you couple that with attempting to acclimate to another staff and playbook, things can get unpredictable.
Furthermore, there’s this statement from running backs mentor William Peagler that appears to demonstrate Collins resembles his old self this spring:
Peagler proceeded to say that Collins and Donovan Eaglin are the most improved backs this spring and Mel Tucker expressed a couple of days prior that the lesser running back’s best football is still in front of him.
That is high acclaim for a back falling off a horrible season with only 90 yards and a 2.2 yards for each convey normal.
What’s more, subsequent to adding Kenneth Walker III and Harold Joiner by means of the exchange gateway this offseason, it seemed like the instructing staff was at that point anticipating substitutions in the backfield. Be that as it may, Collins has remained and is working his butt off. He seems as though he will be the No. 2 running back this season and keeping in mind that that is not as great as his old RB1 work, he and Walker III will make an overwhelming one-two punch.
Include Joiner as a greater amount of a H-back and Jordon Simmons and you have perhaps the best backfield in the Big Ten.
Collins is back, people.
