Michigan may have struggled as an offense in 2024, but the tight ends continued to feast under first year head coach Sherrone Moore. Between Colston Loveland’s draft stock increasing and the backups developing, it was a successful season for the position group:
It may be hard being a Michigan football wide receiver , but the tight ends feasted all season long in a limited passing offense. The Michigan Wolverines worked through their tight ends on offense this past season, and Colston Loveland’s draft stock only grew because of it.
The Wolverines have produced some top NFL tight end talent in recent years, with Dallas Cowboys tight end Luke Schoonmaker, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Erick All and Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner. Loveland will add to that list in a few months as well.
Additionally, the backup tight ends also performed well in 2024, and once again, the future looks bright for the position group.
Here is our rundown of the tight end position this past year.
Colston Loveland
Three years ago, Michigan went to Gooding, Idaho to scout a 6-foot-5 tight end who was ranked at the No. 16 tight end in the country and the No. 1 player in the state. A few years later, that man is projected to be a first-round draft pick.
Loveland has earned a ton of accolades in Ann Arbor, and while there was a decrease in success on the field in 2024 for the team as a whole, Loveland was the star of the show game after game.
After splitting the starting job with Barner in 2023, Loveland received every first-team snap this past season. He had 56 catches for 582 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He registered at least three catches in every game he suited up for, and he had some of his biggest games against the toughest competition.
Against the Texas Longhorns , Loveland caught eight passes for 70 yards. At Illinois, he caught seven passes for 83 yards. One week later at home, Loveland was quoted after the rivalry win over Michigan State , calling the opposition “little bro” and scoring two touchdowns along with 67 yards. And a week after that, Loveland had his best game of the season, dropping 112 yards on Oregon in the Big House.
“Lil bro stay doing Lil bro things” -Colston Loveland pic.twitter.com/31fLXV5G45
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) October 27, 2024
Loveland finished his Michigan career as a second-team All American, second-team All-Big Ten selection, a Mackey Award finalist and an Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Marlin Klein
If a kid from Idaho was a secret find for the recruiting department, talk about going down to Georgia to find a 6-foot-6 tight end from Cologne, Germany. Klein was recruited to the Wolverines as the No. 28 tight end in the same recruiting class as Loveland, and he has patiently waited for his time to shine.
After sitting as the No. 3 tight end in 2023, Klein had an increased role as a blocking tight end in 2024. He was also oftentimes a safety blanket for Michigan quarterbacks. While Loveland took a majority of the targets, Klein developed very nicely, improving from just one catch the year prior to bringing in 13 catches for 108 yards this past fall.
Klein was a much more reliable target under first year head coach Sherrone Moore, logging a reception in nine of the 13 games he played in. With Loveland off to the NFL, Klein will have the chance to compete for the starting job in 2025.
Hogan Hansen
Michigan coaches have a knack for finding and recruiting top high school tight end talent, Hansen is no exception. He was a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 21 tight end and No. 5 player in the state of Washington. As a two-way player in high school, the coaching staff quickly fell in love with Hansen as a tight end, and he rose up the depth chart as a true freshman.
In the third game of the season, Hansen scored a touchdown on his first career reception, a nine-yard grab against Arkansas State.
Michigan finds the endzone again 〽️@UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/6SNjZSJf6M
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024
A few weeks later against Illinois, Hansen made four catches for 50 yards against one of the best defenses in the country. He finished off his first season with one catch against Ohio State and Alabama.
It was a small sample size, but Hansen competed and leapfrogged some older tight ends for substantial playing time. With a full season now under his belt, expect Hansen to compete for the starting job with Klein throughout the spring and summer.
Future Outlook
The Wolverines will be without Loveland, but the trio of Klein, Hansen and Brady Prieskorn (another four-star in the 2024 recruiting class) will put any potential concerns at ease. Michigan has had constant production out of its tight ends in recent years, and next season should be no different.