Name: Colston Loveland
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Gooding (ID) Gooding
Position: Tight end
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked Loveland #77 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He caught 16 passes for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns while starting five games.
TTB Rating: 85
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about Loveland when I put him in the 2022 countdown. I put him at #77 and said he would redshirt, considering the presence of Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker, and others. Of course, it helped him that All got hurt early in the season, but Loveland ended up being the most exciting of all of them, catching a touchdown pass against Ohio State and making a highlight reel, leaping catch against Purdue in the Big Ten championship game.
Loveland's athleticism shined through so much that I've heard some Michigan podcasts and such talking about him as an All-American, which I think is a stretch since Georgia's Brock Bowers is still around. But Loveland is definitely an exciting player, and he has packed on 15 pounds since last season. He can run and he can go up and high-point the ball like a receiver. I would venture to say that he's probably Michigan's most athletic tight end since Devin Funchess, and Funchess went on to play wide receiver in the NFL.
Some might argue that Loveland could be ranked higher, but this is a very talented group - both ahead of him and in the tight end room. Michigan stole Indiana captain and starter A.J. Barner, and they have a couple excellent athletes in Matt Hibner and Marlin Klein waiting in the wings, and there are some walk-ons pushing for time even among all that talent. Still, I expect Loveland to have a very good fall and perhaps be a second- or third-team All-Big Ten player.
Prediction: Starting tight end; 35 catches for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns
I put Loveland in the top 10. He's probably getting too much hype at the moment and TE is generally not a critical position (though, like RB, it's more important in a Harbaugh offense than in other schemes).
ReplyDeleteI think the big difference in our perspectives is in the perception of overall depth at TE. Michigan uses a TON of TEs, often 2 at the same time and 5 or 6 in a game. Yet the 3rd TE is completely unproven (unless you count Bredeson who is more of an H-back type than a flex or in-line TE). Hibner hasn't done anything in 3 years and was behind walk-ons last year. Klein saw garbage time snaps in 2 games and is still considered very raw. Hibner should be OK but Klein is probably a year away from being able to step into a starting type role.
If Loveland (or Barner) are hurt Michigan will be fine vs Purdue but will likely have to change it's scheme to be less reliant on TEs against OSU and PSU.
The other thing to consider is that I think you'll see Loveland take over not just for Schoonmacher/All but also Ronnie Bell as the go-to chain-moving receiver. Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson are solid WRs but haven't had great catch rates. So that's why I think Loveland is a top 10 player, even if he isn't an all american (and may not even be first team all conference).