The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 29 TIGHT ENDS ❱ AT A GLANCE Position Coach: Steve Casula (first season) Returning Starters: Colston Love- land (Jr.; 17 career starts) Departing Starters: AJ Barner (9) Contenders To Start: Max Bredeson (Sr.; 4) Top Reserves: Marlin Klein (Jr.), Zack Marshall (So.), Deakon Tonielli (So.) Newcomers: Hogan Hansen (Fr.), Brady Prieskorn (Fr.) BY CLAYTON SAYFIE I t's not often in today's college foot- ball that a team sends a tight end to the NFL Combine yet still returns an even better player at the position, but that's the spot Michigan is in. AJ Barner is off to the draft, but Colston Loveland, one of the top breakout players in the country last season, is back for his ju- nior campaign. Those facts speak to the way tight ends are used at Michigan, where they're heavily involved in both the run and the pass game. The Wolverines had multiple tight ends on the field for 58.1 percent of their offensive snaps last season — 49.3 percent of passes and 63.8 percent of rushes. They're also a result of Loveland's prowess as a pass catcher. The 6-foot- 5, 245-pound Gooding, Idaho, prod- uct was second on the team with 649 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 45 catches last season. His yardage to- tal was the highest by a U-M tight end since two-time All-American Jake Butt recorded 654 in 2015. Loveland earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and a second-team nod from the media. He's the centerpiece of the tight end room heading into 2024. "He's one of the finest college football players in the country," position coach Steve Casula, who spent the last two seasons as UMass' offensive coordina- tor, said on the "In The Trenches" pod- cast. "When you flip the tape on, he can really go. I'm so impressed by him." The Wolverines have long had strong tight end play, but Casula alluded to Loveland being the best he's seen at Michigan, having worked as an offen- sive analyst in Ann Arbor from 2019-21. "The biggest thing that's unique about Colston is his contact balance as a route runner," Casula said. "His unique ability to get open a million different ways, his ability to get collisioned or collision someone else as he's running a route but keep his balance and maintain his speed is elite. He's so hard to cover because he's loose, he can run, he's physical, and he's got great ball skills and an exceptional catch radius." Given that Michigan uses multiple tight ends, the key for the offseason will be developing depth behind Loveland. Senior Max Bredeson plays a combi- nation of fullback and tight end, and he can serve as an in-line blocker and route-runner, while Loveland is fea- tured as a receiver. Bredeson has experi- ence and graded out as the second-best tight end run blocker in the country last season with a 78.1 Pro Football Focus rating (minimum 200 snaps) — behind only Barner. Despite playing just 45 career offensive snaps to this point, junior Marlin Klein has the opportunity to rise this season. "Marlin Klein is coming. He's com- ing," Casula insisted. "I compare him to where Luke Schoonmaker was at this point in his career. … I think he's going to have a hell of a spring." Casula named graduate Josh Beetham and sophomores Deakon Tonielli and Zack Marshall as others who could con- tribute. All in all, Casula can't wait to get on the practice field with his group, after taking over for Grant Newsome, now the program's offensive line coach. "I'm really excited to get a chance to coach those guys," he said. "It's a really good group." ❑ Colston Loveland Headlines Tight End Group Loveland was second on the team with 649 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns on 45 catches last season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL