Steve Casula breaks down Michigan tight ends room pre-spring

Sherrone Moore brought Steve Casula back to Michigan from UMass to coach the tight ends room, and Casula hit the ground running breaking down film on his new group. There’s a lot to like, he told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast recently, beginning with an All-American candidate in Colston Lovleand. 

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“The greatest compliment I can pay that room and pay Coach [Grant] Newsome and Coach Moore is how hard they play,” Casula said. “You can feel them on tape. You can almost hear them playing when you’re watching them on video. They play with outstanding effort, outstanding technique. They’re really about teaching success first, which is something that is a trend across our football program. 

“But I’m so impressed by how hard they play. You look at some of the biggest moments of the ’23 season … somewhere, somehow, one of the guys that plays in that tight end room was involved in a lot of ways. Whether it be Blake [Corum’s] touchdown in overtime against Alabama … Breddy [Max Bredeson] was involved in that — so was Colston, so was A.J. Barner. There were some of the big moments in the pass game where Colston made some monumental and game changing plays. They just seemed to always find a way to effect and contribute to the game.”

It starts with Loveland, who earned All-Big Ten honors after catching 45 passes for 649 yards. He’ll be a staple in the offense this year, starting this spring.

“He’s one of the finest college football players in the country,” Casula praised. “I remember him when he was on his official visit here with his mom and younger brother. I was actually fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with him, and I told him this the first time we talked — I just remember how nice he was to his little brother, what a good dude he is. He just has this warm, welcoming way about him. But man, when you flip the tape on, he can really go. I’m so impressed by him. 

“We had a great tight end room when I was here the last time, but the biggest thing that’s unique about Colston is his contact balance as a route runner. His unique ability to get open a million different ways; his ability to get collisioned or collision someone else as he’s running a route but keep his balance and maintain his speed is elite. He’s so hard to cover because he’s loose, he can run, he’s physical, and he’s got great ball skills and an exceptional catch radius.”

But the thing that makes him the most difficult to cover is his balance, Casula added.

“When he’s being played in man or zone coverage and a guy doesn’t want to move — college football they’re allowed to hit you now … they’re allowed to re-route you, allowed to grab you — he brings the fight to the pass defender and then still wins routes,” he said. “It’s really exceptional.”

He’s a willing blocker with room to improve in that area, something he’ll work on this spring.

As blockers go, though, Bredeson is the standard. He looked for contact all year and usually found it, helping pave the way for the backs. 

“I was fortunate enough to deal with Max when he was in high school when we were recruiting him, so I got to know him quite a bit,” Casula recalled. “Then I was here with him his first fall, the fall of ’21. Max is someone that we always talked about, ‘yeah, he’s going to play here. He’s going to play here, play on special teams.’ Early on, you could tell he had that skill set. He has taken on the weight room and the growth and development portion of our program like no other. He played it like he was 217 [pounds] when he got here, played in the 220s in 2022, and he’s a guy that is obsessed with Michigan football. He has great physical talent and ability, and he relishes and loves physical contact. 

“He’s the definition of what we call a ‘go blue’ guy. He is everything that is right about Michigan football and college football … that’s Max Bredeson. He was the best athlete at his high school, a high school quarterback. They’d snap the ball to him, he’d run for like 250 yards. Breddy is awesome, man. Awesome. So smart, so intentional about the football work he does each day, how he trains. But at the same time, he’s a great guy to be around — great personality, great aura around him. Awesome. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Marlin Klein, meanwhile, is a guy who has been waiting his turn. He hasn’t gotten many reps, but that will change this spring. 

“I had this conversation with Marlin — so often guys, when you play at a place like this, if you haven’t played at a place like this, people are almost waiting for you to play,” Casula said. “Marlin Klein is coming. He’s coming. I compare him a ton to where Luke Schoonmaker was at, at this point in his career. Schoony had had some moments as a redshirt freshman in 2019, whether it be against Illinois — he had a big touchdown at their place, against Rutgers late, made a big play, a big long run. 

“But Schoony, there were some other older players that had played a bit, so Schoony waited his turn a bit. I think Marlin’s in that similar position. Marlin is really, really talented and really, really good. He’s such a great guy, is into football, and has so many different skills that I couldn’t be any more excited to coach him. And I’m relaly excited about the progress he’s made since he’s been here and he’s going to continue to make. I think he’s going to have a hell of a spring.”

Finally, the Wolverines will be looking for depth behind them, and they have several options. Casula has already begun to identify them.

“Josh Beetham has played some serous competitive snaps for us. He’s really contributed in the run game when we needed him to,” Casula said. “I’m excited about Josh and the season he had a year ago and the kind of spring we’re counting on and hoping from him. 

“Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall are two other guys that redshirted a year ago. I was fortunate because Grant Newsome and I are such good friends and would always talk, and I remember him talking to me about both Deakon and Zack as he was recruiting them. Following their track as he was coming to Michigan though Grant … we’d go through and watch stuff they did in practice or some moments in games, they both belong. 

“I’m really excited to get a chance to coach those guys. It’s a really good group. I’m really excited about and feel really good about it.”