Tag: Colston Loveland

Jay Harbaugh not surprised by tight end Colston Loveland’s success

He’s been incredible thus far! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One thing Michigan football has been increasingly good at under Jim Harbaugh is discovering diamonds in the rough. From Kwity Paye to Luke Schoonmaker to Josh Metellus to Hassan Haskins, the Wolverines have managed to bring in some unheralded talent who ended up being top-end players who went early in the NFL draft.

It’s somewhat difficult to say that of Colston Loveland, the Michigan tight end from Gooding, Idaho, however.

Loveland, who’s now in his second year in Ann Arbor, was a four-star prospect and had some big-time offers, thus wasn’t necessarily a complete unknown. Boasting offers from Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and more, Michigan wasn’t even his first really big offer, but hailing from Idaho, the Wolverines were able to swoop in and get him over some other big teams, in large part because he wasn’t a household name in recruiting circles.

At the time, Jay Harbaugh was the tight ends coach and Loveland’s primary recruiter. Now Harbaugh is coaching the safeties, but as he sees Loveland performing at a high level as his career progresses, he’s not at all surprised that he’s making as big of an impact as he’s been making.

“From the first time I saw him, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy’s ridiculous,’” Harbaugh said. “And if he didn’t live where he happened to live, just from an exposure standpoint, I don’t think he would have surprised anyone at all. But the reality is who’s out there and a really small town off the beaten path. And when you saw him in person, it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, he’s really one of the best high school prospects that I’ve ever seen,’ and it’s just fun watching him. Being able to be here and be such a great teammate, a great person, and become the player that he’s capable of. And the sky’s the limit. I mean, he’s gonna keep getting better and better so really, really huge fan of him.”

Regardless, how does Harbaugh find such unearthed talent? Does it take skill to do so?

For him, he says it’s more of going in with open eyes and paying attention to everything — not the recruiting rankings or curated highlights. And when he made it Idaho to see Loveland, he saw a player who could play every position at a high level, who probably would have been a five-star is he was in a more talent-rich area.

“Just going through lists, watching guys and you just kind of go from top to bottom — ‘Hey, these guys are supposed to be the best, these guys are good,’ go down the ranking list and sometimes guys catch your eyes,” Harbaugh said. “Sometimes you don’t like other guys as much, maybe you move past the guy and then circle back and say maybe I’m gonna double-check on this guy again.

“He’s one, right? He seemed really good and seemed like a good player, great ball skills, a guy who’s crazy productive. He was like returning punts and stuff. And I mean, doing everything — played D-end, played safety. I mean, he did like everything on the football field. But you don’t recruit many players from that area of the country. So you circle back later and compare his tape. ‘Man, this guy’s pretty interesting,’ then you gotta go actually see him in person. That’s when it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s really probably the best or one of the very best prospects of that position in the country.’”

AJ Barner emboldened by close friendship with Colston Loveland, on and off the field

Just shows how strong the culture is at #Michigan now. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Often, when college football players are in the same position group, you hear stories of animosity just as much as you hear ones of togetherness. There’s only one ball to go around, and whether you’re a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end, the pickings can get slim. But for fifth-year transfer tight end AJ Barner, who came aboard from Indiana, he couldn’t be happier to share duties with sophomore Colston Loveland.

“He’s one of my best friends on the team,” Barner said. “On and off the field, we’re always hanging out and whatnot. He’s just an awesome dude, an awesome player. And I think just having him here, were able to bounce ideas off each other. Come off the field and maybe ask him a question. And he might ask me a question. I think just having that relationship is something that’s super good for both of us, as players and as people, also.

“I think I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of good tight ends, even when I was at Indiana,” Barner said. “But I think he’s just, like I said, a great person. And I don’t think it necessarily surprised me, because even when I came here on my visit, I was introduced to him, and he was an awesome guy. So I think that from the start, it just really clicked.”

But how do each help the other? Culturally, Michigan in the past two years has been all about older players helping along the younger players, but with several key transfers arriving this offseason, we’re hearing just as much of younger players aiding their newfound elders.

Barner may have been around the game longer, but Loveland started to break out in his first year, making key plays in big games against Ohio State and in the Big Ten Championship game against Purdue. He’s also been in the system for a year longer, so the duo bounces ideas off of each other to make sure they’re both on the same page.

“Just depending on coverages and routes, and it might not even be a question but like, ‘Hey, what do you think on that? Like, how I ran that route?’ Or, ‘What do you think on this blocking scheme?’ Or, ‘How can when we’re both in together, you know, make something happen?’ And I think our communication also on the field, because a lot of times we’re working together, whatever our job may be. So I think that’s a lot of what the communication in question is about.

“I think we’re critical enough of each other. Like I said before, we’re each other’s biggest fans, but also the biggest critics at the same time, but definitely not over the top. But we’re gonna be honest with each other and I think that’s super important.”

Barner got his first catch as a Wolverine this past week, a 12-yard dart which gave Michigan a first down. Loveland, thus far, has six catches for 63 yards. Assuredly, as the season wears on, both will get more involved in the passing game, and it can be assured that they’re both rooting for each other’s success.

Michigan football position grades after Week 1

The Wolverines looked good on both sides of the ball. #GoBlue

Michigan football, as expected, took care of business against East Carolina on Saturday with a 30-3 victory to kick off the 2023 campaign. J.J. McCarthy looked comfortable and in control of the offense. The junior quarterback completed the game with 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards. McCarthy and Roman Wilson connected for three touchdowns on Saturday. The Pirates were able to slow down the run by selling out and loading the box.

Defensively, the Wolverines looked really solid as well, only giving up 235 yards of total offense to East Carolina — which mostly came during garbage time. Michigan’s defense played a clean game with only one penalty called against the Wolverines. The Pirates were able to get on the board with a field goal as time expired but were not a threat to score the entire game.

With Week 1 in the books let’s grade the performance of the position groups.

Why Josh Pate expects one Michigan football player to break out in 2023

It’s definitely coming! #GoBlue

Whether you’re a listener, a viewer, or even player, you’re either Pate State material or you’re not. And when it comes to one Michigan football player entering the 2023 season, he’s got Pate State written all over him.

247Sports’ Josh Pate has a successful, must-watch podcast that he does twice a week, which airs live on YouTube, and he’s in the thick of looking at the upcoming 2023 college football season. He appears to be buying the hype surrounding the maize and blue, noting that the one-two punch at running back leads the charge above all other positions in Ann Arbor.

But Pate also has another player he’s looking at as a potential breakout, difference-maker type, and that’s sophomore tight end Colston Loveland.

“Luke Schoonmaker, out the door, very productive for them. Erick All transferred to Iowa, very productive for them,” Pate said. “All of a sudden, we need to know the name Colston Loveland. He’s 6-5, he’s 240, really good hands, really athletic. Like I said, they look at Brock Bowers down at Georgia — I’m not gonna do the comparison thing, I’m certainly not — but they look at Brock Bowers and what he’s doing and they think internally, ‘We’ve got a guy that can do some of that! Colston Loveland can do some of that!’

“And I don’t think it’s just bluster — I think he’s just that good. And I think the rest of the country will find that out this year.”

Loveland started coming onto the scene in 2022 in the latter third of the season. He finished the season with 16 catches for 235 yards and two touchdowns, with one TD coming in the second half against Ohio State and the other being the first score of the Big Ten Championship game against Purdue.

As Pate mentioned, with Schoonmaker and All gone, Loveland — a former wide receiver in high school in Idaho — will likely be targeted early and often.

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Coaches excited about Colston Loveland’s potential in 2023

They’re saying he’ll leave Ann Arbor as #Michigan’s best-ever tight end. #GoBlue

Like Will Johnson at cornerback last year for Michigan football, Colston Loveland started showing signs late that he may be among the nation’s best.

Though Loveland made some plays starting in the 2022 spring game, it wasn’t until the Nebraska game in November that he started putting his mark on the game. Then, against Ohio State, he had a big touchdown, and he followed up by splitting two defenders for a score the next week in the Big Ten Championship game.

This year, with both Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All gone, the onus is on Loveland to take the mantle and become the next great Michigan tight end. And he has the capability to do just that, Grant Newsome, the Wolverines tight ends coach, told Jon Jansen on the ‘In the Trenches’ podcast this week.

“He’s on the right track. I mean, it’s impressive,” Newsome said. “And the cool thing for him is, I don’t think he realizes quite yet just how good he is and how good he can be. And that’s great for us because he works every day like he isn’t one of the best tight ends in the country. He works every day like he isn’t one of the most talented guys we’ve ever had come through here. So there’s no arrogance, there’s no cockiness, he just puts his head down and grinds and is so humble so mature about it.

“But yeah, I mean he’s got an immense amount of ability. I was joking with Jake Butt it was the best tight end I’ve ever seen come through here in my nine years here and he watched a practice. And afterwards he and I sat down and talked and he said, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna be better than I am. He may already be better than I am.'”

What fans have seen is an electric playmaker, a tight end that has the capability of being a dominant pass catcher. Newsome says that coaches plan to put him in as many advantageous positions this year to take advantage of his playmaking ability.

“I think we’re very fortunate because of his height, because of his length,” Newsome said. “Because he’s already pretty strong. He’s got to keep getting stronger. But for a young guy, he’s very strong. Yet he’s athletic, yet he’s comfortable putting his hand in the dirt in the backfield and being that second puller, I mean, you saw that the touchdown versus Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game — he’s lined up in the backfield. He’s comfortable doing kind of everything so we can kind of manipulate him and move him around, by gameplan or by matchup, to get what we’re looking for.”

The one question entering 2023 is how will Loveland do as a blocker? Because, after all, that’s one of the tight ends’ main duties.

He was hit-or-miss in 2022, which is why we saw him more in a receiver-type of role. But it’s not because he isn’t capable blocking, Newsome says. In fact, the sophomore from Gooding, Idaho has everything he needs to be a dominant blocker, he just needed to gain the requisite amount of strength to be able to contend with the conference’s best edge rushers and linebackers.

And now he has just that.

“So he is very natural, especially for a guy who, playing out in Idaho, playing a little bit smaller football, he was the best player in the field every single week. So they used him all over the place,” Newsome said. “His coaching staff had him at quarterback, they had him at receiver. I said basically outside of snapping the ball, he played everywhere on the field at some point. As you should. I mean, he’s the best player in the state for a reason.

“But for a guy who didn’t really have a background in blocking, that’s not what he did a lot of in high school, to come in — just a lot of things that we know with former offensive lineman are sometimes tough for guys to get used to and perfect. Playing with tight hands, playing with a great base, like getting his cleats in the ground. All the things that are tough for offensive linemen who’ve been doing it their entire lives or at least their high school careers to do came pretty natural to him. And the more you watch the last year’s film — there were times if he would lose a block it’s, ‘Oh, he’s not quite strong enough yet,’ or improving little technique things. But the foundation was very, very, very good, especially for a guy who that was not his background.”

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Michigan football players descend upon Traverse City for Wolverine Weekend

Such a cool event! #GoBlue

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The most ardent maize and blue faithful received an opportunity to spend their weekend rubbing elbows with a few powerhouse players who wear the winged helmet in posh luxury while supporting name, image and likeness efforts.

Taking place at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Wolverine Weekend had  running back Donovan Edwards, linebacker Junior Colson, tight end Colston Loveland, safety Makari Paige and cornerback Will Johnson make their way up north, where they could take pictures with fans before a dinner and a Q&A session with the hosts. Hosted by the resort in conjunction with Valiant Management and WTKA, the event following dinner also featured John U. Bacon, Ira Weintraub, Devin Gardner and Sam Webb reprising their popular MMQB show in front of a live audience. The aforementioned players broke down plays from last season.

On Sunday, those in attendance also had an opportunity to take part in a round of golf on property.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday evening’s event.

Why the game has slowed down tremendously for Michigan football TE Colston Loveland

He’s going to ball out in 2023! #GoBlue

DETROIT — Considering how much Michigan football lost in the tight end room from the past two years, you’d think entering 2023 it would be seen as a rebuilding unit.

Not so much.

Entering 2022, starters from the year past — Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker — were returning, along with Joel Honigford, the converted offensive lineman. Yet, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding Colston Loveland, the freshman from Gooding, Idaho.

By the season’s end, All was shut down due to injury before he ultimately transferred to Iowa. Schoonmaker was playing well, but was precluded due to various injuries. So it was Loveland who had taken on the role of being that dynamic, pass-catching tight end. He had impressive touchdown catches against both Ohio State and Purdue, the latter being the Big Ten Championship game.

This year, Loveland is considered to be a premier player on the Wolverine offense. He’s joined by former Indiana team captain AJ Barner, who arrived in Ann Arbor via the NCAA transfer portal this offseason. Between that duo as well as up-and-coming players like Matthew Hibner, Marlin Klein, and incoming tight ends Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall, Loveland sees a group that should match or surpass the previous iterations inside Schembechler Hall.

“Yeah, losing those guys, it’s tough because those are big, big part of the team and great dudes, especially for the room,” Loveland told WolverinesWire. “They knew a lot, taught me a lot. But our tight ends room right now is just deep, too. We got Hibby (Matthew Hibner), AJ, Marlin — I can keep going on with everyone. And we bond so good together, and such a tight-knit group. And that’s the team in general.

“But no, I’m loving it. I can’t wait to play with these guys.”

As for his own game, Loveland feels much further along than he was at this time last year.

He had an impressive catch in the spring game as an early enrollee and eventually started seeing his production increase as the year went on before cementing himself as a reliable playmaker. Now, he feels much more comfortable in the offense as he enters his second year and hopes both he and the team can deliver on expectations.

“Yeah, totally different,” Loveland said. “I know everything now, like playbook-wise. Now, I’m just really working on fine-tuning my game and working together as a team and just our main goal, which I think we all know what that is.”

As mentioned, Loveland will be joined by senior AJ Barner, who showed out in the spring game this year. He feels that the two of them together can be that dynamic duo that the Wolverines are hoping for based off what he’s seen from the Ohio native in Ann Arbor this offseason.

“He’s been balling ever since he got in. And he’s a super good guy, too. Like I said, he fit right into the room right when he came in and yeah — I’m excited to see what we can all do.”

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Grant Newsome discusses Colston Loveland’s emergence, Michigan football adding AJ Barner

The position group is going to continue to be loaded. #GoBlue

PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — Michigan football not only has high expectations for the rest of the 2022 season, but also for the future.

The offense has long been predicated on running back and tight end play. Though the Wolverines have lost tight ends and will lose more, the future is still bright in Ann Arbor. Certainly, that’s how tight ends coach Grant Newsome looks at it.

The maize and blue lost Erick All, first to injury and then to the transfer portal. Luke Schoonmaker is graduating, as is Joel Honigford. But in the past three games, Colston Loveland, a freshman from Gooding, Idaho, has stood out, reeling in two touchdowns in the two biggest games of the season.

Newsome shared his thoughts about why Loveland has caught on, and how important he is to this offense now.

“The crazy thing is like we saw this with Colston in the springtime you got here we knew a pretty special player,” Newsome said. “And, obviously, Erick going down and then Schoony coming in and out of some games, were banged up a little bit in the middle of the season, he really never missed a beat. He capitalized on those opportunities and really kind of carved out a role for himself as a true freshman. He’s worked incredibly hard.”

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On third-year tight end Matthew Hibner

One player we still haven’t seen a lot of is third-year tight end Matthew Hibner.

Hibner’s claim to fame this season was recovering the fumble on the opening kick against Maryland, but he’s been biding his time until he can be a factor in the offense itself. The former four-star from Burke, Virginia, certainly has the skills, we just haven’t seen them yet.

Newsome shared more about what he’s seen from Hibner in practice, as well as his overall outlook on what he brings to the table.

“Yeah, he’s playing really, really well right now. And again, it’s kind of a unique situation where we’ve got an NFL tight end who’s a fifth-year guy, and he’s starting a lot of reps. Colston’s come on, and kind of done some real good stuff as well. But Matt’s doing an incredible job. I really, really think highly of him. He’s obviously showing up on special teams, recovered a fumble against Maryland, three tackles this year on special teams, including that big hit against Purdue. So he’s playing his tail off right now. And I’m excited to see throughout this playoff and into the next season how that kind of translates more to tight end.”

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On former Indiana tight end AJ Barner joining the team

Hibner will still fight for playing time in his fourth year, however, since Loveland will be back and the Wolverines added a big piece via the transfer portal in December.

AJ Barner was a leader for the Indiana Hoosiers team, and even represented IU at Big Ten media days this year. He committed to Michigan and could have an inside track for a starting role.

Newsome explained why the Wolverines decided to go out and get another tight end, despite the current roster and recruiting additions of Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall. He said it was a no-brainer to bring in a player of Barner’s caliber to Ann Arbor.

“We’re super excited about obviously,” Newsome said. “Losing Schoony, losing Joel, you’re kind of losing that inline, wide tight body. Gonna bring in a guy who not just can fill that role, but has excelled at that role. And has started in our conference. It just made all the sense in the world to bring a guy like that who can come in and contribute immediately and fight for a starting spot.”

But what did he and the staff see in him that made them interested?

Newsome mentions his ability not just to be able to catch the ball, but also his prowess in blocking — the combination of which is precisely what will get you on the field in Ann Arbor.

“First, just physically very imposing, extremely well-built, very tall and athletic, physical, can do all the kind of inline blocking that we ask our guys to do, which is not the case across the country,” Newsome said. “It’s tough to and he’s (done) it not just in college, but in this conference, which is tough. And then, obviously, you watch the Ohio State game they played last year and he goes up and catches a fade on one of their corners. So he really kind of fits all that we do, he can handle the inline stuff and the running game and also be able to go out and flex out and catch passes.”

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What veteran Michigan football TE sees from Colston Loveland

He’s been really good! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — He stepped up when Michigan football has needed him most.

With Luke Schoonmaker injured and somewhat limited entering the Ohio State game, and Erick All out for the season, there was no fully healthy, veteran presence for the Wolverines at a prime position. In the weeks leading up to the game against the Buckeyes, the offense reflected that, as QB J.J. McCarthy didn’t have his reliable outlet in the pass game when the wideouts were covered up on the outside.

Enter Colston Loveland, who, from Week 12 on, now has two touchdowns to his name, including the go-ahead score over OSU as the first points of the game against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game. After starting off with at least one catch in his first three games, he didn’t reel in any receptions in the next five. But in the last five, he’s managed eight catches for 171 yards and the aforementioned two touchdowns.

But what’s allowed him to succeed, especially when he was needed? How has he changed since he first arrived in Ann Arbor last spring?

“Mainly just his understanding of the playbook, he’s the same player,” sixth-year tight end Joel Honigford said. “He’s gritty, he’s fast, he’s physical, he can catch. We saw that the first time he was here in his first spring practice ’til the last game. He’s always been the same player, but his understanding of the game has developed a lot. And I think a lot of his blocking skills have also developed, I don’t know how many times he was asked to inline-block in high school. But he’s gotten much better at that.”

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Honigford made the switch in 2020 to tight end, himself, and only devoted himself full-time to the position in 2021. So, coming from the offensive line, he knows a little something about transitioning to a new role.

In his eyes, how has it been for Loveland?

“Speaking from my experience, coming in as an offensive lineman, it was tough, because it’s a whole new game,” Honigford said. “Any little mistakes in technique that you have, they’ll get exposed. So you can’t have that. And it was a big learning curve for me. As I noticed, for most people, it’s just a completely different game. The recruiters coming in, it’s not always the top dog anymore. In some cases, I mean, they still show up pretty good.

“But I mean, the transition for him seemed pretty seamless. And I think we all collectively helped him along the way to put him and the other guys in the best spot they could be that way and help them with their technique and stuff.”

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What Michigan football players see in the TCU defense

Will #Michigan have another explosive offensive attack in the College Football Playoff? #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While much of the onus for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is how Michigan football’s defense will perform against the vaunted TCU offense, the offensive side of the ball for the Wolverines is preparing to face the Horned Frogs’ defense.

Ranked No. 74 in the country, the TCU defense isn’t among the nation’s elite, but much of that could be explained away by the pass-heavy Big 12 conference. The Horned Frogs are one of five Big 12 teams with a top 50 passing offense across college football.

But the Wolverine offense is fully focused on what the TCU defense presents, noting that there are a lot of things that the Horned Frogs do well.

“I’ve watched them the past week. Obviously, they’re a really good defense,” senior left guard Trevor Keegan said. “They run the 3-3-5. Their linebackers fly around to the ball, they come downhill. Their safeties want to make tackles in the run game. Their D-line, they’re thick, their nose tackle’s thick. Their two four (interior players), they play five techniques, too. They’re pretty good players, too. So it’s gonna be a challenge for us.”

One thing that stands out to freshman tight end Colston Loveland is that this will be the first time this season that the Wolverines have faced the 3-3-5 defense, which will be a challenge since it’s unfamiliar. He also noted as we did above, that the numbers may not be reflective of how good the TCU defense is, given that it’s faced a lot of air raid attacks given the conference.

“Off the head, I can’t think of anyone that plays similar,” Loveland said. “I mean it’s Big 12, there’s a lot of air raids so we don’t want to see a lot of that but yeah, not I can think of right now. I’m sure there is.”

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But there is one advantage that Michigan does see: this isn’t a TCU defense that gets after the quarterback that often.

Michigan already has the best offensive line that the Horned Frogs will have seen all year, and while there may be an onus on stopping the Wolverine run game, they’ll likely also do whatever they can to stymie the Michigan passing attack.

Still, it’s a pick-your-poison type of situation, as the Wolverines have shown, especially the past two weeks, that they can win through the air just as much as they can on the ground.

“We know that they’d like to drop a lot of guys in coverage, don’t bring much pressure,” Loveland said. “So we’re gonna take advantage of that.

Michigan and TCU will face off in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 with kickoff at 4 p.m. EST.

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