INDIANAPOLIS — Though there are a lot of questions about Michigan football’s quarterback and wide receivers in 2024, there’s one area where the maize and blue could thrive in the passing game. Tight end.
That’s because, with Brock Bowers now gone from Georgia, the Wolverines have he who is often mentioned as the best tight end in football in junior Colston Loveland. Loveland is already projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick this upcoming year, and could be the first TE to lead the team in receiving yards since Devin Funchess did donning the No. 1 jersey in 2014.
And Sherrone Moore isn’t shy to exude confidence about what Loveland brings to the table.
At Big Ten media days last week, Moore was asked what kind of tight end Loveland could be this year, and he made a lofty comparison to one of the stars in the NFL ranks who may be the best tight end in the pros at the moment.
“I mean, ever heard of Travis Kelce? I mean, that’s what you’re looking at — dude’s an animal,” Moore said. “He’s an absolute animal and like — the guy just works, he works, he works and like, Colston — he reminds me of Blake when he was like, like we had stop Blake from doing extra like, ‘Colston, you can’t do that much. You got to stop,’ you know, hold out. So the sky’s the limit for him.”
Kelce has had over 1,000 yards receiving in seven of his 10 seasons of production in the NFL. He was just 16 yards shy of hitting that mark last year, but he missed some time with injury.
But in order to be an elite tight end, you have to do more than catch and run. You have to block.And Moore says that Loveland has improved in every facet of his game, from blocking to his ability as a receiver.
“Everything. Run game. He looks like a receiver when he’s running routes. So it’s gonna be awesome to watch him.”
With Loveland in the mix, there’s a solid chance that the passing game can run through him, thus creating opportunities for the nominal receivers. Given the attention he’s likely to get this season, his job will certainly be tougher as he’s also more likely to face double teams, but if he can work through those, the offense will be in great shape.