Colston Loveland’s path to Michigan, outlook for 2024 season

Michigan’s tight end is poised to be one of the nation’s best at his position.

After breaking out at the end of the 2022 season, Colston Loveland emerged as a star in 2023 as one of J.J. McCarthy’s top targets. With so many of Michigan’s biggest contributors from last season heading off to the NFL, it’ll be on Loveland to carry the load in the Wolverine passing attack.

Today, we’ll be continuing our player profile series by taking a look back at Loveland’s college career and path to Michigan, as well as diving deeper into what to expect from the tight end this year.

The story so far:

Jim Harbaugh and company traversed the country all the way to Idaho to find Colston Loveland, giving him an offer in April of 2021 before his eventual commitment just a few months later. He signed as a member of the 2022 recruiting class as one of two tight ends in the class alongside Marlin Klein.

Ranked as a four-star prospect and No. 10 tight end nationally according to 247Sports, we had heard early on that Michigan might have found itself a diamond in the rough. Coming into college, Loveland was lauded for his size and athleticism, but fans didn’t get to see that on the field right away.

Playing behind Luke Schoonmaker, Loveland saw mostly garbage time for most of his freshman season. Near the end of the year though, he started to take on a bigger role.

In a close game against Illinois , Loveland tallied three receptions for 50 yards, including a critical first down pickup to extend the game. He made his biggest play of the season the following week against Ohio State , securing a 45-yard touchdown in the second half to put the Wolverines ahead — the would never trail again.

He would catch another touchdown against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game and register four receptions for 36 yards in the Fiesta Bowl loss against TCU . By the end of the season, it was evident that Michigan had big plans for Loveland heading into 2023.

Loveland entered his sophomore year as the top tight end on Michigan’s depth chart, but still faced some competition for targets with Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and fellow tight end A.J. Barner.

He was involved heavily in the offense early on, regularly serving as a go-to target for McCarthy. He had had a big game against Rutgers and showcased his ability on a 54-yard catch and run against Indiana . He also scored two touchdowns against the Michigan State in arguably his (and A.J. Barner’s) best game of the season.

Much like 2022, he made a big impact against Ohio State as well with five receptions for a season-high 88 yards. He also tacked on 64 yards on three receptions against Washington in the National Championship, including a 41-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to set up a crucial score. In total, Loveland finished his sophomore year with 45 receptions for 649 yards and four touchdowns.

Outlook for 2024:

Heading into the 2024 there’s a lot of weight on Colston Loveland’s shoulders. Gone are Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and A.J. Barner, meaning Loveland is the lone big contributor returning among the pass-catchers. He’ll lead a group of talented yet relatively inexperienced guys in Semaj Morgan, Fred Moore, Tyler Morris, and Marlin Klein.

Without a big step forward from Michigan’s young pass catchers, it seems more than likely that Loveland could lead the team in receptions and receiving yardage in 2024. It might be strange for a tight end to claim that statistical profile, but Loveland is an exception due to the talent he possesses.

There are few players with the combination of size, movement ability, and overall athleticism, so it’s possible we start to view Loveland as more of a big-bodied wide receiver than a traditional tight end. If he’s relied on like he’s expected to be and is able to capitalize statistically on his heavy workload, his title as the best tight end in all of college football will be more than justified.