Jim Harbaugh has enjoyed watching Nico Collins produce a breakout season with the Houston Texans.

Collins, a 3rd-round pick for the Texans in the 2021 NFL Draft, produced big numbers across the 2018-19 seasons as a big-play threat for the Wolverines. He would ultimately opt out of the 2020 season and scuffled a bit the first two seasons of his NFL career.

That changed this season with the arrival of former Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud. Together, Stroud and Collins ignited the Texans Saturday night with a 75-yard touchdown to open the 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Collins finished the night with 9 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, setting a new career-high in the process. On Sunday, Harbaugh admitted it was “fun to watch” Collins’ big night, even as he prepares to lead Michigan into Monday’s CFP National Championship.

“It was fun to watch. I think he had nine targets, nine receptions, a ton of yards, two touchdowns. It was just great, just go back and think about the time when he was in high school, visiting him at his school,” said Harbaugh. “Reporting as a freshman, how hard it was to put him in that position. It warms the cockles of the heart. It was great. Just keeping doing you, Nico. It’s working.”

After 70 catches for 927 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first 2 seasons, Collins surpassed those numbers in the 2023 season. He finishes the regular season with 80 catches for 1,297 yards and 8 touchdowns, proving to be the big-play threat Houston always envisioned. As a result, the Texans are gearing up for the AFC Playoffs behind Collins and Stroud.