Colston Loveland: Already better than Jake Butt?
We first heard the rumblings on Michigan sophomore tight end Colston Loveland in fall camp last year — “potential first round draft pick” and “could be as good as any tight end who ever played here.” It seemed premature and hyperbolic, like much of camp talk usually is.
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But Loveland met the hype and then some in his first season as a Wolverine. The 6-5, 237-pounder caught 16 passes, none bigger than a 45-yard score in the second half at Ohio State that gave Michigan a lead it would never relinquish, and was the Wolverines’ offensive freshman of the game six times last season.
After this spring, the buzz continued to escalate. Tight ends coach Grant Newsome is careful about allowing his guys to get too complacent with a lot of praise, but he told Jon Jansen on the recent In the Trenches podcast his sophomore is everything people say.
“He’s on the right track. It’s impressive,” Newsome said. “The cool thing for him is I don’t think he realizes yet how good he is and how good he can be, and that’s great for us. Because he works every day like he isn’t one of the best tight ends in the country … like he isn’t one of the most talented guys we’ve ever had here.
“There’s no arrogance, no cockiness. He just puts his head down and grinds and is so humble, so mature about it. But he’s got an immense amount of ability.”
Especially as a pass catcher, which makes him extremely valuable. In an offense in which there aren’t any “star” receivers the caliber of a Braylon Edwards, Mario Manningham, etc., the Michigan coaches will need as many playmakers as they can get.
The room is five deep, but Loveland is the guy who could be a game-changer.
“We’ve been very fortunate because of his height, because of his length … he’s already pretty strong,” Newsome continued. “He’s got to keep getting stronger, but for a young guy, he’s very strong. Yet he’s athletic, comfortable putting his hand in the dirt in the backfield and being that second puller, too. You saw the touchdown vs. Purdue in the Big Ten championship game. He’s lined up in the backfield.
“So, he’s comfortable kind of doing everything. We can manipulate him and move him around by game plan, by matchup to get what we’re looking for.”
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He played every position but center in high school, Newsome noted, as he should have as the school’s best player. And though he was usually the biggest guy on the field, he arrived at Michigan as a very capable blocker.
For guy who didn’t really have that background, he impressed everyone.
“It’s tough to guys get used to and perfect playing with tight hands, with a great base, getting their cleats in the ground, but all the things … came pretty natural to him,” Newsome said. “The more you would watch last year’s film — a lot of times he would lose a block, it’s, ‘he’s not quite strong enough,’ or improving little technical things. But the foundation was very, very good, especially for a guy who it was not his background.”
Some who already lived it, meanwhile, have given him the ultimate compliment. He’s on track to be one of the best who ever played the position at Michigan, and even the stars know it.
“I was joking with Jake Butt, who was the best tight end I’ve ever seen come through in my nine years here,” Newsome said. “He watched a practice, and afterwards he and I sat down and talked and he said, ‘yeah … he’s going to be better than I was. He already may be better than I was.'”
Time will tell. But it’s clear Loveland should be a huge part of the offense this year and already one of the Big Ten’s best.
