Where Will Colston Loveland Rank Among Tight Ends In 2023?

Michigan's sophomore tight end should be in line for a massive season in 2023.

Michigan fans are beyond excited for tight end Colston Loveland's sophomore season. The big freshman didn't even start playing regular snaps until about the halfway point of the season but as soon as he did, he started making plays. The 6-5, 237-pounder didn't exactly stuff the stat sheet since he played behind Luke Schoonmaker, but he flashed just how good he's going to be while catching 16 balls for 35 yards and three touchdowns.

The kid can run, both while out in routes and after the catch, jump, make contested catches and has already shown to have an elite catch radius. It's safe to say that No. 18 is going to be a massive weapon for JJ McCarthy next fall. 

Because he played behind Schoonmaker and only caught 16 passes, Loveland isn't getting a ton of love this offseason as a returning impact player. Pro Football focus recently released its list of top ten returning tight ends in the country, and the Idaho native is nowhere to be found. 

The Top-🔟 returning Tight Ends in College Football per @Chad_Maxwick 📊 pic.twitter.com/3UaKJfd03X

— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 3, 2023

Granted, the tight ends on that list are damn good, but I would just about guarantee that Loveland's production will be on par with the entire list.

Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns
Brock Bowers - Georgia	63	942	7
Brevyn Spann-Ford - Minnesota	42	497	2
Ja'Tavion Sanders - Texas	54	613	5
Jaheim Bell - Florida State	25	231	2
Bryson Nesbit - North Carolina	35	507	4
Benjamin Yurosek - Stanford	49	445	1
Cade Stover - Ohio State	36	406	5
Jalin Conyers - Arizona State	38	422	5
Caden Prieskorn - Ole Miss	48	602	7
Seydou Traore - Colorado	50	655	4
Colston Loveland - Michigan	16	235	2

Bowers is sort of on another level, but everyone else has pretty comparable numbers, and you can just about bank on Loveland being in the mix with these guys next fall. Consider that Schoonmaker finished the 2022 season with 35 catches for 418 yards and 3 scores, and it's easy to envision Loveland producing at least that much.

It became clear as the season progressed and as Schoonmaker sat out with an injury that Loveland was plenty capable as a true freshman. Heading into next year, as a bigger, stronger, more prepared sophomore, with hundreds and hundreds of additional reps with McCarthy under his belt, Loveland just might emerge as one of the best overall tight ends in the country.