Michigan Football: Breaking down commitment of 4-star TE

Michigan football added a talented tight end from Idaho on Sunday, getting a commitment from 2022 recruit Colston Loveland.

Michigan Football had its own fireworks on this Fourth of July weekend. The Wolverines picked up a commitment from tight end Colston Loveland (Gooding, ID/Gooding HS) on Sunday night.

Michigan dipped into unfamiliar territory to land his pledge. Loveland will be the Wolverines’ first scholarship player from the state of Idaho since 1943.

Michigan football quickly made its move to get Loveland in the class, offering him on April 26 and last weekend he canceled an official visit to Colorado to visit Michigan instead.

Loveland was blown away by what he saw in Ann Arbor and now he is Michigan’s 13th commit in its 2022 class. Read on for a breakdown of how he fits into Michigan’s plans.

TE Colston Loveland 

Size: 6-foot-5 230 lbs

Ranking: Composite- three-star #588 overall, #30 TE, and #1 player in Idaho

247sports- four-star #13 TE and #1 player in Idaho

Notable Offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Alabama, Auburn, Boise State, Colorado, LSU, Oregon State, UCLA, and Utah

The Player: Loveland began his football career as a receiver and he was just 6-foot and 170 pounds. However, a growth spurt moved him to 6-foot-5 and now he has prototypical size for the tight end position. His receiver skills show on his film as he has soft hands and is a solid route runner. Loveland can be a matchup nightmare at the next level. He has the athleticism to be flexed out wide against DBs who are too small to cover him or lined up in the slot against linebackers that he is quicker than.

He has good body control and the ability to track the football in the air and high point it. He could emerge into a valuable weapon in the red zone. Loveland can also line up in-line as a traditional TE. He has shown a willingness to block, which can be a bit rare for tight ends with his receiving skills early in their careers. My comparison for him is Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee. Loveland has the ability to find himself in the NFL at some point as well.

The Fit: Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh loves to utilize his tight ends and run two tight end sets. I’d imagine that was a huge part of the recruiting pitch to land the four-star recruit.

When Loveland arrives in Ann Arbor, Michigan will have Erick All, Luke Schoonmaker, and Matthew Hibner all multiple seasons of eligibility remaining. The Wolverines also have a commitment from Marlin Klein in 2022. I think Loveland is more ready to play as a freshman than Klein because he is a bit more polished and stronger right now.

However if Michigan sees Klein and Loveland as its TE duo of the future, they complement each other very well. Klein is more in the mold of a move TE while Loveland can be the traditional blocking TE or flex out as well.

Michigan is also still in the mix for the #3 TE in the country in Oscar Delp. However, Georgia already leads on his crystal ball and it remains to be seen if he will be willing to join a class that already has two TEs. Either way, the Wolverines will come away with a solid haul in 2022 with Loveland and Klein in the fold.