Michigan TE Colston Loveland is NFL-ready, according to his position coach
The Michigan Wolverines have not had the season most expected, but a silver lining has been the play of junior tight end Colston Loveland, who has accumulated 49 catches for 523 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.
Most assume that Loveland is playing his last season in Ann Arbor and that he will ultimately declare for the 2025 NFL Draft. In the here and now, he has been one of the only positives on a passing attack that has been one of the worst in the country.
“Colston has been great of late down the stretch,” tight ends coach Steve Casula said on Wednesday. “He missed the game as a result of injury. But ever since he’s come back, he’s performed at a really high level. He’s a huge part of our offense. We’ve been able to get him open. He’s gotten himself open. When it’s a realistic play to be made, he’s making it right now. So that’s a credit to him. He’s playing really good. Fortunate to have him. He’s fun to watch, fun to coach. Makes me look like a good coach. So he’s awesome.”
Michigan has had trouble consistently getting its passing game going, but Loveland has been a known commodity each week in not only winning his one on ones, but the staff being able to find ways to scheme him open.
“I think it’s a combination of both,” Casula said. “There’s been some, not necessarily trick plays, but one-off plays where he’s been virtually cut loose over the course of the past couple weeks. But then at any point in time, you’re going to have to defeat man coverage. And he’s been able to do that. He’s got good spatial awareness. He’s got great fundamentals and tools. And then there’s a moment in each game where it’s like, hey, you’ve got to go get open. And he’s been able to successfully do that. And that’s a credit to him. So it’s been both, for sure.”
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Loveland’s performance has also been a selling point for Michigan on the recruiting trail.
“When you look at not just this year but over the course of the past handful of years, how much we use a tight end, how many snaps they play, but we play with a lot of tight ends,” Casula said. “It certainly hasn’t hurt matters. With the number of targets and catches and his target percentage and the completion percentage when we throw him the ball, it’s certainly been helpful without a doubt.
“We can really say at times the offense goes through our best player at tight end. We’re fortunate. We feel like we’ve got a generational one in him. We certainly use that to our advantage.”
Michigan knows that Loveland is about as NFL-ready as it gets and that it needs to plan for life after him very soon. Casula has had the chance to get the up-close look since arriving this winter and has seen him clear every benchmark possible.
“I’ve never coached in the NFL, but from my time here, my time at Ferris State, I’ve been around a handful of NFL players,” Casula said. “I’ve only ever been to one NFL practice in my life. If he’s not ready to go play in the NFL, I don’t know who would be. Like, he’s outstanding. I think when you compare his movement skills, his athleticism, ball skills, all that kind of stuff, I think you could compare him against NFL players. Like, now, obviously, you know, it’s going to be a reset button for him whenever he goes to the NFL, but without having the experience of having coached in the NFL, golly, if he’s not ready to go play in the NFL, I don’t know who would be. So I say that very much as a compliment to him. So I think he is.”
