Colston Loveland: Three-Star Location, Five-Star Talent

Michigan sophomore Colston Loveland is one of the best tight ends in the country and will certainly be playing on Sundays in the future.

It feels like every coach on Michigan's staff has said something similar about Colston Loveland: If he had been from California, Florida or Texas, he would've been a five-star prospect and one of the most coveted tight ends in the entire country.

Except he wasn't. Loveland hails from Gooding, Idaho and thus carried a three-star rating for much of his recruitment. He did get bumped up to four-star status once he committed to Michigan, and scouts and outlets had a better opportunity to check him out, but he was still underrated and under-recruited considering how he looks now. Jay Harbaugh was heavily involved in Loveland's recruitment and recalls what he saw in the early stages of courting the talented tight end.

"From the first time I saw him it was like, 'This guy's ridiculous," Harbaugh said. "If he didn't live where he happened to live, just from an exposure standpoint, I don't think he would surprise anyone at all. But the reality is, he was out there in a really small town off the beaten path." 

Harbaugh dove even deeper and remembered what it was like watching Loveland on a screen and then how it all looked in person.

"He seemed really good. He seemed like a very good player with great ball skills. He was a guy who was crazy productive. He was like, returning punts and stuff and I mean, doing everything. He played D-end, played safety. I mean, he did everything on the football field," Harbaugh recalled. "But you don't recruit many players from that area of the country. So you circle back later and compare his tape and say, 'Man, this guy's pretty interesting.' 

"And then you go actually see him in person. That's, that's when it's like, 'Oh my gosh, he really is probably the best, or one of the very best, prospects at that position in the country. He really is one of the best high school prospects that I've ever seen.'"

Jim Harbaugh keeps saying that Loveland has no idea how good he can be. During his 1+ years at Michigan, Loveland has flashed some of that greatness. He got behind the defense against Ohio State for a 45-yard touchdown. He made an incredible leaping touchdown grab between two defenders in the Big Ten title game against Purdue. This year, he has 14 grabs for 168 yards and is consistently getting better as a blocker. Right now, just 18 games into his collegiate career, he looks like a lock to play in the NFL for a long time. Harbaugh and Co. seemed to know it right away, even though most other programs did not.