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Michigan's Colston Loveland named top returning tight end in college football

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•02/21/24•

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Colston Loveland
(Photo by Gabriella Ceritano / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan Wolverines football tight end Colston Loveland flashed at the end of his freshman season and broke out as a sophomore. Now, heading into his junior campaign, he’s been named the top returning tight end in the country by Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Last season, the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and earned a second-team nod from the media. He was second on the team with 649 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 45 catches. His 649 receiving yards were the most by a Michigan tight end in a season since two-time All-American Jake Butt recorded 654 in 2015.

“Loveland went from a promising freshman to one of the nation’s best tight ends as a sophomore,” PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote. “He finished as the fourth-most valuable FBS tight end this past season according to PFF’s wins above average metric and was fifth among them in receiving yards (649).

“Loveland’s elite athleticism at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds makes him nearly unguardable. His 88.7-percent open-target rate in 2023 placed him in the 97th percentile for all tight ends in the country.”

Loveland is by far the best tight end in the Big Ten entering the 2024 campaign, according to Chadwick. The next highest ranked player in the conference is Michigan State’s Jack Velling at No. 8. Velling transferred from Oregon State to the Spartans this offseason. He and Loveland are the only rising true juniors in the top 10. Iowa’s Luke Lachey checked in No. 10.

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers was widely regarded as the best tight end in the sport for multiple years, but he declared for the 2024 NFL Draft after his junior season. Bowers, Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders and others are no longer in college, opening the door for Loveland to take over as not only one of Michigan’s best offensive player but one of the top pass-catchers in the country.

Ahead of playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban compared Loveland to Bowers, a player the Crimson Tide had seen three times in as many years.

“They’ve got some really good skill guys,” Saban said. “No. 18, the tight end, [is] kind of a mismatch. A little like Georgia’s guy.”

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, the team’s offensive coordinator last season, said last August that Loveland’s potential is sky high.

“I don’t know if there is [a ceiling for Loveland],” Moore said. “He can be as good as he wants to be. He could be the best one in the country.”

Now, according to PFF, Loveland projects as just that.

Donovan Edwards earns ‘honorable mention’ from PFF

Michigan senior running back Donovan Edwards appeared on PFF’s top 10 returning running backs rankings ahead of last season. However, he’s not top 10 this season, after rushing 119 times for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2023. Two of his scores and 104 of his yards came in the biggest of contests, a 34-13 win over the Washington Huskies in the national championship.

“Edwards had a disappointing junior campaign, rushing for just 497 yards on 119 attempts as he served as the complementary back to Blake Corum. He’s flashed superstar ability before though, especially in the biggest games of the season last year when Corum went down with a knee injury.”

Donovan Edwards in Michigan’s final three games of the 2022 season:

GameRushing YardsRushing TouchdownsYards Per Carry
at Ohio State21629.8
vs Purdue (Big Ten Championship)18517.4
vs TCU (College Football Playoff Semifinal)11905.2

Continued Chadwick: “In the national championship game against Washington this year, Edwards had six carries for 104 yards and two scores, averaging a ridiculous 17.3 yards per attempt. He’s a proven receiver as well, with 456 receiving yards over the last two seasons. With Corum and quarterback J.J. McCarthy moving on to the NFL, Edwards has a chance to finally show what he can do as Michigan’s bell-cow back.”

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