Colston Loveland ready to build off last year’s successes

After a big freshman year for the now sophomore tight end, Colston Loveland is looking forward to more big moments as a Wolverine.

While it was a bit of a culture shock to go from playing in front of two thousand people in high school in Idaho to over 110,000 at Michigan Stadium, it was still a smooth transition.

“It had to do with the people I was surrounded by and the people in this building, it made it easier for me,” Loveland said on In the Trenches with Jon Jansen.

A big part of that was getting the feeling that he belonged at Michigan. While on his visit he committed. “It felt right,” he shared, “It was the culture and the people here. Obviously, academics were a big part of that too.”

There’s the reality that freshmen don’t often get the same opportunities to see the field of play as their other counterparts. While those chances could be few in between, all it takes is a visible level of dedication and inherent talent to make a name right away. Loveland embraced those moments he was given and because of that, he excelled.

“I knew I had two studs in front of me (Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker), so I thought I’d get my feet wet and learn from those guys,” Loveland said. “Some things fell my way and I ended up taking advantage of those opportunities.”

Loveland had big moments as a freshman, getting the chance to see a Big Ten Championship and a playoff berth. Though perhaps, it was coming up big in college football’s biggest rivalry game that will be a memory that lasts a lifetime for him. On the road against Ohio State last year, Loveland got to share in the barrage of scoring in the second half for the Wolverines. Down three in the third quarter, he pulled in a 45-yard TD from QB J.J. McCarthy to give Michigan the go ahead and their lone score of the quarter.

“It’s hard to describe, an unforgettable experience,” Loveland said. “Having the opportunity to be in that game, I was so blessed to have that. Looking forward to many more experiences like that.”

Now with a year in the books, Loveland’s focused on building off the success he had last year.

“Big focus for me is to just keep getting better and not get complacent,” he said. “Having a good year as a freshman, I can see some people getting complacent. I got to keep my head on straight and keep playing the ball I know how to play. Everything is right in front of me. I just have to take advantage of it.”

Having a year under his belt and now a full offseason with McCarthy, Loveland’s locked in on getting back to the playoffs and winning a championship.

“We have to just be ourselves and we all know that. We have to work harder to be where we want to be,” Loveland explained. “Everyone in our program is doing a great job leading us in that way. Just keep attacking everything and locking in on the details. The little things will help us lock the bigger things.”