'Really impressive' Michigan early enrollee tight end is ahead of schedule, other depth pieces are improving

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football has a loaded tight end room, with the headliners being redshirt junior Luke Schoonmaker and junior Erick All. All was second on the team in both catches (38) and receiving yards (437), while tying the most touchdown catches (three). Schoonmaker hauled in 17 receptions for 165 yards and three touchdowns Sixth-year senior Joel Honigford is a blocking specialist, and his return was significant for the offense, too.

But the Maize and Blue have some others who could contribute this season and will definitely make impacts down the road.

That begins with sophomore Matthew Hibner and redshirt freshman Louis Hansen. The former has played just 26 career snaps, while the latter has been in on only two plays. While there’s a log jam at the position and they may not see the field as much as players of their caliber normally would, they’re both improving at a high level, Michigan position coach Grant Newsome said.

“It’s been really encouraging,” Newsome said of the depth Michigan has at the position. “That has probably been the most rewarding part of this spring for me, seeing that depth throughout the room.”

RELATED

• Michigan spring game mock draft breakdown: Strategies, roster takeaways, more

• Why Michigan tight ends Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker can be ‘really special,’ two of the nation’s best

While he doesn’t have much experience, Hibner is actually a veteran now and is entering his third season in the Michigan program. Hansen is still technically in his freshman year of college, but he was a practice standout last season, earning scout team player of the week honors Northwestern week, and is having a big spring.

“We all kind of know what Erick and Luke are, and they’ve definitely taken steps to refine their game even more and perfect their craft so to speak,” Newsome continued. “But to see Hibby take a big step forward. And that was something that we challenged him, ‘Hey, you’re a third-year guy now, you’re a junior now — go out and push these guys. It’s your time. You don’t have to take a back seat. Go push these guys. Go set yourself up to where you’re in that competition and for the year after.’ He’s done a good job.

“Louis is coming along and playing really well.”

“I think they’ve embraced it, really,” Honigford said of Hibner and Hansen learning behind the veteran Michigan tight ends. “They’ve been surrounded by … look at myself, I’ve been here for six years. I’ve been here through the whole gamut of Michigan football — from our 2-4 season to last year making the College Football Playoff. It’s the same thing with guys like Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All. Those guys have been in the same spot where they’ve had to do the same thing.

“And it’s encouraging for those guys to look up and see, ‘Oh, we keep working, we keep pushing, this is where it can go.’ And I think they’re really buying into it, and it’s also just a matter of figuring out how to play college football. They’re still young guys, and college football is a different beast than high school football.

“In [college] practice, you literally have to go as hard as you can every single play to show up. And if you don’t, then it’s noticed that you don’t. So, I think they’re doing a good job of following our lead and our experience, and we do a pretty good job of also passing down our knowledge and helping them out with what they need help with.”

That pair is progressing at nice rates, but Michigan freshman early enrollee Colston Loveland is ahead of schedule. A four-star prospect according to On3, Loveland was a bit off the beaten path playing in Gooding, Idaho, but his production was always there. In his prep career, he totaled 235 receptions for 3,141 yards and 35 touchdowns.

“Colston picked up the playbook really, really quickly,” Newsome revealed. “He’s really impressive. You can tell that he does some things athletically that he’s going to be a really good player.”

Rabun Gap (Ga.) Nacoochee four-star Marlin Klein will also join the talented position room this summer.