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Colston Loveland was sent out wide one play. Then he flipped to the opposite side the next. He later posted up in the slot, moving well off the line of scrimmage in one formation before setting his feet almost parallel to the ball in another. On multiple occasions, the junior tight end was sent across the field on pre-snap motions. And yes, he caught a pair of short passes, picking up a total of 14 yards.
All of this happened within a seven-minute span at the beginning of the second quarter during Michigan football’s spring game last month, when in a brief, but intriguing cameo Loveland showed why he will be the key figure in a reconstituted offense that may need to rely on him and his position group as a principal source of passing production.
“I love throwing to the tight ends,” offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said afterward. “It’s my job to get the ball to the best players on the team, and right now, Colston Loveland is one of those guys.”
Since he set foot on campus two years ago, Loveland has been viewed as one of the program’s most valued members. Former coach Jim Harbaugh raved about his potential, calling the former four-star prospect from small-town Idaho a “freak athlete.”
Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (18) makes a catch against Washington linebacker Carson Bruener (42) and cornerback Dominique Hampton (7) during the first half of the national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
“He doesn’t know how good he can be,” Harbaugh said in September. “He doesn’t know how good he is.”
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There were flashes that suggested he had the makings of a star, of course. His breakout performances against Ohio State and Purdue toward the end of his 2022 season, when the freshman made a pair of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-footballs-leading-receiver-actually-100949578.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-05-20 10:09:49
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