Michigan football’s offense has struggled through three weeks of the season, but there have been bright spots.
Kalel Mullings’ emergence as a top-end running back has been a welcomed development, while young receivers starting to find their form such as Fredrick Moore or Kendrick Bell could pay dividends as the season goes on.
But through three games, one could no position has been important to the offense than the tight ends.
The swiss army knife of the offense, Michigan’s unit under Steve Casula hasn’t just used H-back Max Bredeson and in-line big bodies in the running game, but used its junior standout Colston Loveland as a focal point of the passing attack. He leads the team in receptions (19) and receiving yards (187) and is one of four players with a receiving touchdown.
Michigan tight end Colston Loveland runs against Indiana defensive back Louis Moore during the second half of U-M’s 52-7 win over Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Ann Arbor.
The problem this week: There’s no guarantee Loveland will play Saturday in the Big Ten opener (3:30 p.m., CBS) against No. 12 USC (2-0), after he left Week 3 against Arkansas State with an apparent upper-body injury in the third quarter.
Casula was evasive when asked about his pupil’s participation this week in practice.
“Everybody in our program that’s not dealing with a season-ending injury or an upper-body, head injury of some sort, they practice every day,” he said. “That could look a lot of different ways for a lot of different players, whether they’re dealing with an injury or not.”
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Whether U-M is transparent or Loveland’s about his availability, there’s no denying his importance.
Speaking earlier this week, head coach Sherrone Moore said tests came back better than the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-football-needs-te-production-195517033.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-09-18 19:55:17
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