Tag: Steve Casula

Versatile Michigan TE Deakon Tonielli making strides behind the scenes

A former four-star who’s been in the program for some time that we haven’t seen yet. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When it comes to tight end, very few schools, if any, feature the position more heavily than Michigan football.

The Wolverines have one of the premier TEs in the country in Colston Loveland, but we’ve also seen heavy doses of hybrid TE/fullback Max Bredeson, Marlin Klein, Zack Marshall, and true freshman Hogan Hansen. One name that was expected to be heard from but hasn’t been is redshirt freshman Deakon Tonielli.

A four-star prospect from Illinois in the 2023 class, Tonielli was seen as likely the more productive TE in the class compared to the three-star Marshall. But Marshall has played 157 snaps thus far in 2024 whereas Tonielli has yet to play a snap — on offense or special teams.

On Wednesday, tight ends coach Steve Casula shared Tonielli’s progress and more about his trajectory as he works to get onto the field.

“Deakon hasn’t had the opportunity to play yet, but that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t gotten better this season,” Casula said. “For a long time here now, on Mondays here, the guys that don’t play in the game practice and have a pretty lively, active — we call it an opportunity scrimmage. So he’s made strides in that area. He’s performed well in the training environment, certainly. He’s continuing to get better.

“And I touched on this, I think, the last time we talked — I think maybe we were talking about Marlin, about how college football is not a movie. Not everybody’s going to play as a true freshman. But I think when you come to play at a place like Michigan, if you don’t show up or you’re not in the game through your first two seasons, people kind of start to wonder, like, ‘Huh, what’s going on?’ Almost like, what’s wrong? It’s hard to play here. We have a very crowded tight end room with depth and maturity and experience and talent. And not everybody’s path to playing is the same. Not everyone’s going to kind of follow the same exact steps. But he’s doing a good job of hanging in there and continuing to work to get better.”

Not all tight ends are created the same. So what kind of tight end is Tonielli?

Loveland, Michigan’s feature tight end, is more of a pass-catching threat, whereas Bredeson is a blocker. As far as how Casula sees Tonielli, he’s a bit of a hybrid of the two, which could bode well for the future, given that Marshall appears to be more of a blocking tight end, while Hogan Hansen looks like a pass catcher.

“As a pass catcher, Deakon’s got really outstanding body control and ball skills,” Casula said. “But he’s also has the frame and the size to play in-line for us. So definitely has some real utility and valuable in that respect, the tight end, for sure. So he’s kind of a combo guy, to answer your question.”

Why Colston Loveland could lead Michigan football in receiving in 2024

He’s the best tight end in college football. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Many question where Michigan football will get its production from via the wide receiving corps given the turnover, having lost Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson to the NFL. Though there are high hopes internally for the wideouts, those who question also forget that the Wolverines have arguably the best tight end in the country in Colston Loveland.

Loveland was second on the team last year with 45 catches for 649 yards and four touchdowns. And his position coach, Steve Casula, thinks there’s a chance that the junior from Idaho could end up leading everyone when it comes to receiving in 2024.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Casula said. “I think you look at Coach Campbell’s background and track record, in 2021, I think their tight end had 70. They had a tight end with over 70 receptions. He’s been exposed to getting the tight end of the ball. (Loveland) is able to do a lot of different things, both in the run and pass game.

“And we have a saying in the tight end room, the ball finds talent, technique, and energy, and Cole’s got all three. So, yeah, I mean, I think that could certainly happen. Cole’s been exceptional, is exceptional, desires to get better, but I think if you look at K.C.’s track record, he’s more than willing to keep throwing the ball through a tight end, for sure.”

One of Loveland’s hopes this offseason has been that he could improve his speed. Loveland claims that fellow third-year tight end Marlin Klein is the fastest in the room but if he, himself, manages to increase his speed, that could make him all the more dangerous.

Casula has seen improvements in his game on that front, noting that there’s no wasted movement in his stride and in his routes. Now that he’s seeing more of Loveland’s true ability in fall camp, the first-year tight ends coach is impressed.

“Cole has moved around great. And I don’t know if he went and ran a 40-yard dash or a 100-meter-yard dash, what the time would be. But when the ball snapped, he’s got such great functional movement skills,” Casula said. “He wastes no movement. And he is so thoughtful about his plan of attack in both the run and pass game that he just does things like when you have a plan before the ball snapped and you have an understanding, high-level understanding of football and the system, you’re able to do things a little bit faster.

“But, yeah, he’s playing faster than what I was exposed to in the spring. He’s playing really well. And that starts with him and starts with just kind of who we are as an offense. But, yeah, he’s playing fast right now. So I don’t know that he would go and be – I don’t know how fast he is, in terms of a measurement. But when the ball snapped, he damn sure looks fast. So he’s playing really fast, playing really well.”

Michigan opens the season on August 31 against Fresno State at The Big House.

Coaches and friends Steve Casula and Lou Esposito reunite at Michigan football

For the third time in their careers, the duo are coaching on the same sideline, but in a different uniform. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the third times in their careers, Lou Esposito and Steve Casula have found themselves roaming the same sideline but in a different uniform.

From their shared tenures at Western Michigan, Davenport, and now Michigan football, the duo have always seemed to find each other. And in the latest case, it wasn’t even close to expected.

While Casula, a former Michigan offensive analyst who had taken the UMass offensive coordinator job after the 2021 season, was an early hire by new head coach Sherrone Moore, Esposito was a late addition, a replacement for embattled new defensive line coach Greg Scruggs, who was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. But the pair have reunited, and considering the relationship they have, it’s a positive that there’s a strong camaraderie between the two.

“So it’s funny, I was with Espo from 2010-12 at Western Michigan, and then 14-16 at Davenport,” Casula said. “My son’s birthday was yesterday. And I remember when he was born like two days later, we played the first ever spring game at Davenport. And now you look up and eight years later, give or take a couple of days where we’ve been coaching against each other again in the spring game at the University of Michigan.

“He’s one of my best friends in the world. Our wives are best friends. He’s living with me right now, which is awesome. But Espo as a coach, he coaches guys hard, loves them harder. He’s very similar to Coach Moore in that respect. But big-time energy, has had a ton of experience. Obviously he’s a Division-II college head coach, coordinator in the MAC.

“I can’t say enough good things about Lou. But I’m the wrong guy to ask probably. I’m biased — he’s family to me.”

Esposito has generally been ahead of Casula on the organization chart in one way or another. At Western Michigan, he was an on-field coach working with the defensive line while Casula got his start as a graduate assistant in 2011 before becoming the tight ends coach in 2012. In 2014, when Esposito was charged with coaching the first-ever football team at Davenport, he hired Casula to oversee the offense.

Now that they’re both in Ann Arbor together, Esposito shared why he hired Casula at Davenport and why he’s excited to work together with him with the maize and blue.

“He connects with guys. He gets the most out of guys,” Esposito said. “The second thing was he’s a tireless recruiter. And he works at it all the time. And he has an unbelievable knack of remembering guys.

“We would be in recruiting meetings and he was a (graduate assistant) and he would say, ‘Hey, coach, player 56, the guy really dipped his shoulder and dipped around the edge there and made a tackle.’ And I’d be like — I know that we just watched 10,000 clips, and he would just regurgitate all that information. So I knew right then.

“And then he’s a better person than he is a coach. Like his family — I’m actually staying at his place now. I just told him I’m the best house guest he’s ever had. I won’t tell his parents that because they’re pretty good. But he’s a better person, like that guy will give you literally give you the shirt off his back. And that’s that’s why I knew from the jump. I want to surround myself with as many good people as you can.”

The odd part for both is that they’re each from the East Coast (Casula is from Delaware while Esposito is from New Jersey) but both have spent the bulk of their coaching careers in the state of Michigan.

Both have coached at Western Michigan, Davenport, Ferris State (though they weren’t there at the same time), and now Michigan.

Report: Michigan football hires new, but familiar, tight ends coach

HUGE! #GoBlue

Michigan has had a lot of staff changes over the past two months, but another piece of the puzzle has been locked in.

According to Maize & Blue Review’s Josh Henschke, the Wolverines have hired former UMass offensive coordinator Steve Casula as the tight ends coach.

Michigan has its man for the tight end coaching position and is a familiar name to the U-M program.

Multiple sources have confirmed that UMass offensive coordinator Steve Casula will be named TE coach in Ann Arbor.

Casula worked as an analyst at Michigan from 2019 to 2021 before being hired by former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Massachusetts.

Casula was responsible for a massive turnaround offensively for UMass. In 2022, Casula’s first season, the Minutemen averaged just 12.8 points per game and 265 yards per game. They won just one game and were widely recognized as the worst team in college football. However, once Casula had settled into his role he was able to create a productive unit. In 2023, Casula improved his offense to 28 points and 356 yards per game. Umass still only won three games, but Casula and his unit scored 24 or more points in five of the losses.

Michigan already has a strong tight end room, so Casula will be on board to continue a history of success. Colston Loveland is possibly the best at his position in college football heading into next season, so keeping him involved will be priority number one.

There is some intriguing youth behind Loveland however. Rising sophomores Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall offer upside while incoming freshmen Brady Prieskorn and Hogan Hansen are considered top players nationally. In short, Casula needs to simply oversee the smooth operation of an already terrific group as opposed to molding NFL-bound prospects out of sub-par players.

No one knows exactly what the offense will look like next year, but there’s a very high chance that it features Loveland as the top receiving option. His athleticism and ability are rare for someone so young. Look for him to be one of the top players selected should he declare for the 2025 NFL draft.