The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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64 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW "It's been an open competition thus far, and it's been cool to see those guys battle it out. They've all been handling it really well, staying on the grind and just trying to get better every day." They also get along, making for a good situation, he observed. "It's a great point, finding that chem- istry between the competition," Loveland said. "But first it starts with the com- petition. It has started out great. Every- one's got a fair opportunity to win the job. We've got time. We have all summer to get it right. But, hopefully we just find that out. "I don't think anyone here is worried about who the starting quarterback is and who's going to take charge. It has to play its course out at this point. The offense can be based around skill sets that the quarterback has. We'll see when it comes to the starting quarterback." As an extension of the offensive line, Loveland relates to the less-heralded Michigan blockers. He's seen that aspect of the 2024 Michigan crew developing as well through the offseason. "It starts with being close off the field," he said. "I think back to our last O-line, how close those guys were and the cama- raderie they had. But it's also just getting reps, like the spring we had. Working on calls, and everyone just coming together. Everyone has that one-track mind." Ready To Rumble Togetherness has been a theme in the offseason, for the crew given the unen- viable task of following up a national championship season. Michigan's play- ers are keenly aware of what some are saying, in the wake of the program losing a host of newly minted NFL players, not to mention the head coach and a handful of his key staff members to the pros. Loveland and his teammates under- stand they've got to stay together in a season where a loss will mark the Wol- verines' first since the CFP following the 2022 campaign. Staying together starts with coming together, he assured. "Just being out there with the guys or around the guys," Loveland mused. "All the hours we put into this, where you're always with your teammates. Just build- ing those relationships — that's some- thing that I value, and something that I'm going to hold onto for a long time." The secret sauce hasn't changed either, he assured. In two seasons at Michigan, Loveland has started 17 of 29 games and caught 61 passes for 884 yards and 6 touchdowns. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER