I recently caught up with Gooding (Idaho) High head coach Cameron Andersen to get more on Michigan tight end commit Colston Loveland.
Here are some highlights from our interview
On how Loveland has progressed this season:
"He's a talented player. A lot of stuff he's going to progress in at the next level, we're not going to be able to do with him. But he's progressed a lot with his football IQ. It's super high. He played three different positions on defense and five different positions on offense. He's learning to play each position and how to use his athleticism in space. That will be big for him at the next level. Michigan wants to use him as a flex end that can block and make plays."
On Loveland playing different roles as a senior:
"The only way we can truly get him the ball is by giving it to him in the backfield. But generally what we do is when we feel like we have the right guys double teaming him because we've isolated the run game a little bit then we know we can throw anything we want, and they're not going to stop him at our level. We just want him to move and motion and touch the ball in so many places that defenses have to scheme for all of it."
On what's left for Loveland to work on before he enrolls early at Michigan:
"There are a lot of skills at Michigan that he'll utilize that we can't really do with him because we don't have the same resources. They are obviously going to put 5-10 pounds of college-style weight on him. He can work on some hand mechanics and ability to fight off double teams. Also, his ability to press hard, get into his sit and break out of his routes. It will be all of those precision things since he plays so many positions here and doesn't sit in one spot. As far as being physical and kicking the crap out of people, he's got that down."
On U-M tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh visiting Loveland during the bye:
"He's a dude. When you meet him, you can feel his confidence. When you talk to him, you understand his ability to coach Colston's position. We have a lot of confidence that Jay will take care of him."
On his advice to Loveland as other schools continue to push:
"We had some really good conversations. I stay out of it a lot. It's mostly family decisions. When it gets to football questions, I'll interject and tell him what I know and what I've researched. Even though coaches are coming by, it's a wave and run away. He has goals here that he wants to accomplish. But he's been pretty solid with Michigan. I think right now, he's excited about being a Wolverine and winning a state championship."
Here are some highlights from our interview
On how Loveland has progressed this season:
"He's a talented player. A lot of stuff he's going to progress in at the next level, we're not going to be able to do with him. But he's progressed a lot with his football IQ. It's super high. He played three different positions on defense and five different positions on offense. He's learning to play each position and how to use his athleticism in space. That will be big for him at the next level. Michigan wants to use him as a flex end that can block and make plays."
On Loveland playing different roles as a senior:
"The only way we can truly get him the ball is by giving it to him in the backfield. But generally what we do is when we feel like we have the right guys double teaming him because we've isolated the run game a little bit then we know we can throw anything we want, and they're not going to stop him at our level. We just want him to move and motion and touch the ball in so many places that defenses have to scheme for all of it."
On what's left for Loveland to work on before he enrolls early at Michigan:
"There are a lot of skills at Michigan that he'll utilize that we can't really do with him because we don't have the same resources. They are obviously going to put 5-10 pounds of college-style weight on him. He can work on some hand mechanics and ability to fight off double teams. Also, his ability to press hard, get into his sit and break out of his routes. It will be all of those precision things since he plays so many positions here and doesn't sit in one spot. As far as being physical and kicking the crap out of people, he's got that down."
On U-M tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh visiting Loveland during the bye:
"He's a dude. When you meet him, you can feel his confidence. When you talk to him, you understand his ability to coach Colston's position. We have a lot of confidence that Jay will take care of him."
On his advice to Loveland as other schools continue to push:
"We had some really good conversations. I stay out of it a lot. It's mostly family decisions. When it gets to football questions, I'll interject and tell him what I know and what I've researched. Even though coaches are coming by, it's a wave and run away. He has goals here that he wants to accomplish. But he's been pretty solid with Michigan. I think right now, he's excited about being a Wolverine and winning a state championship."
