The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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70 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW [ T I G H T E N D S ] season, finding himself in a four-way tie for the most TD grabs on the year. Selzer and Honigford — the 6-6, 257-pound converted offensive lineman brought in for extra muscle at tight end — each made a catch as well. "It feels like Jim Harbaugh's best teams are loaded at the tight end spot," Karsch noted. "These guys are going to get opportunities. "Schoony got better and better. There are young kids threatening as well. If there's a program you want to be a tight end in, this is certainly in that group, where a tight end is going to see the foot- ball — multiple tight ends are going to see the football." Those tight ends could include the "H Boys" — Hibner and Hansen — this year. Neither has made a reception yet for the Wolverines, but that could soon change. Also, Michigan will be look- ing to break in Klein, the 6-6, 215-pound import from Cologne, Germany; and Love- land, the 6-5, 230-pounder mined out of Gooding, Idaho. "It seems like everybody loves Love- land," Karsch said. "That just feels like they went out to the mountains and found a mountain man that nobody's heard of to come in. By the time everybody realized what Michigan had, everybody wanted him. "Like I said about Erick All, it's hard to come in and make an impact when you're young. Hansen and Hibner are examples of that. They are your next trio of great tight ends, and if they stick with it, will be tearing it up in the next couple of years." It certainly doesn't hurt to feature a strong set of tight ends in your first year as their coach. Newsome should benefit not only from that bounty, but also because of his grounded status in Michigan football, not only as a player but also as a grad assistant with the offensive line (2020-21) and an as- sistant tight ends coach (2018-19). "I was fortunate to have been in the room before with [co-offensive coordina- tor and offensive line coach] Sherrone [Moore] and the guys there, and I already had enough famil- iarity with the older guys in the room," Newsome said. "Not only do I know them, but they also know me. We had Erick in that room in 2019 when he was a true freshman. When I was a senior, Luke Schoonmaker was a freshman. Things have gone pretty smoothly so far, and a lot of credit is due to the guys in that room." Newsome blocked the notion that at only 25 years of age, he might have trouble being fully in charge. "I think there are two ways to look at it," he said. "The most obvious way — people say 'You're only three years older than these guys, two years older than these guys, how could you com- mand the respect?' or something along those lines. "It goes down to the maturity of those guys in the room and also that we had that relationship before. It wasn't some kind of stranger coming off the street and being expected The tight end position has long been a staple of the Jim Harbaugh offense at U-M. Excluding the pandemic-altered 2020 cam- paign (22 catches, 199 yards, 1 TD), the tight ends have averaged 56 catches for 707 yards and 5 touchdowns in six full sea- sons played. Usage declined with Josh Gattis coordi- nating the offense upon his arrival in 2019. The Wolverine tight ends grabbed only 41 receptions for 542 yards that season, but they had the most touchdowns (7) of the Harbaugh era. The production picked back up in 2021 with a 57-catch, 618-yard and 5-TD showing from the group. Senior Erick All graded out as the Big Ten's sixth-best tight end (76.8 overall) out of 30 eligible players last season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). His receiving grade was seventh among his league peers (75.3), while grading out fifth-best as a run blocker (76.4). His overall PFF grade was a substantial leap forward after 58.4 and 53.9 marks during his first two season. First-year position coach Grant Newsome has experience working with the tight ends as a graduate assistant to Sherrone Moore, the current offensive line boss and offense's co-coordinator, in 2018-19. Three guys under their watch rounded into NFL players in Zach Gentry (Pittsburgh Steel- ers), Sean McKeon (Dallas Cowboys) and Nick Eubanks (Cincinnati Bengals). [ F Y I ] X-FACTOR X-FACTOR Sophomore LOUIS HANSEN flew under the radar during his freshman season, but he could be poised for a rise up the depth chart with a big summer. The 6-6, 252-pounder starred on the scout team during his rookie campaign and got his feet wet at the college level. With a strong offseason of development, Hansen could play himself into a larger role and potentially become the leader to start ahead of the 2023 season. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND