Michigan TE Colston Loveland is one tough guy, as he played most of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury that takes roughly 4-6 months to recover from following surgery.
Football players are known to be tough, but some guys are on another level when it comes to playing for their teammates, coaches and university.
One of those guys is Michigan tight end Colston Loveland. The soon-to-be first-round NFL draft pick was one of the Wolverines’ shining stars offensively in 2024, as he recorded 56 receptions, 582 yards and five touchdowns. He accounted for 35 percent of the team’s receiving output and nearly half (5-of-12) of the team’s receiving touchdowns this past fall.
Needless to say, Michigan’s aerial attack was bad in 2024, but it would have been even worse without Loveland.
In Michigan’s Week 3 contest against Arkansas State, Loveland went down right before halftime with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. He went to the locker room, came back out, but went back to the locker room after landing on it hard on the first drive of the second half. You can see the play that knocked him out of the game in the video below.
Now we are learning about the ailment that plagued Loveland all season long. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter , via a letter sent by Loveland’s orthopedic doctor, the injury he suffered from was a Type V AC joint dislocation, which typically requires surgery and a recovery timeline of 4-6 months. Loveland got the surgery on Jan. 29 and is expected to be fully healed by the time the 2025 NFL season rolls around, per the letter.
Somehow, Loveland missed just one game following that injury and proceeded to play in all but one game the rest of the season. Truly remarkable stuff from Loveland, especially when you see what the injury looks like in the photo below.
Colston Loveland –
Suffered a Type V AC injury in September and STILL producing the way he did for rest of season is bonkers.
Type V circled below – tears of the AC and CC ligaments with significant clavicle displacement that punctures the muscle above.
No long term issues. https://t.co/CbuhnEVKrL pic.twitter.com/slsutvkcbY
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) February 25, 2025
The fact Loveland was able to continue producing the way he did after the injury is what may be the most surprising thing of all. After his injury, Loveland managed to put up 37 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns in seven games. That includes a 112-yard effort against Oregon and an 83-yard performance at Illinois.
Whatever team drafts Loveland in April is getting one tough SOB that will do everything it takes to suit up and play for his coaches and teammates.