Idaho tight end Colston Loveland sets OV at Colorado for end of June
With the number of expected official visitors already north of 20 for this month, the Buffaloes added another to their incoming guest list, as three-star tight end Colston Loveland will be in Boulder from the 25th-27th.
Loveland, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound prospect from Gooding, Idaho, admitted that his hometown and state aren't especially known as being particularly fertile recruiting grounds.
But upon first glance at his offer sheet, one can deduce that Loveland's abilities speak for themselves.
So far, he has received scholarship offers from half the Pac-12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah) as well as Alabama, Michigan, Boise State and others.
“I bet coaches look at Idaho — just because the level of competition is not the best — they probably look at that and want you to prove yourself more, which is fine," he said.
"It’s how it goes. But definitely coming from a bigger school and state, and showing out there, you’ll get a lot more attention.”
Loveland has a busy month of June ahead of him.
This upcoming weekend, he'll take his first official visit to Arizona, followed by ASU the next weekend, Oregon State from the 18th-20th and then CU to round out the last weekend of the month.
As it stands now, Loveland is set to visit four of the top seven programs he named in mid-May before the month is out.
Given that Boise State is but an hour's drive from him, he plans to head up there unofficially on Thursday.
In early March, Loveland picked up an offer from Colorado and position coach Bryan Cook, with whom he's been getting to know more intimately since then.
Cook's personality seems to be resonating with Loveland, as is the Buffs' need for additional scholarship tight ends, especially with Brady Russell preparing to enter his final season with the team.
“It’s been great," Loveland said. "He really reminds me of people around here in southern Idaho: super down to earth and I can tell he’s a hardass who’ll get on you, which is good."
"He’s a cool guy. He told me last season that (Colorado) was playing walk-ons so I know that they need some help.”
Last fall with Gooding, Loveland hauled in 69 catches for 816 yards and six scores.
Given those numbers and what he's put on film, Loveland certainly looks to have strong instincts as a passing game asset although he self-described himself as a tight end who can both catch passes and get his hands dirty on the line of scrimmage.
“I define myself as a hybrid more than anything," he said. "I played some receiver freshman and sophomore year, so I kind of got everything there and after learning the tight end stuff, I think my routes are pretty crisp.”
Whether it's the Buffs or any of the programs to have offered him, seeing what they have to offer in-person is something important to Loveland.
Now, with the NCAA recruiting dead period officially over and done with, he'll have an opportunity to do just that.
Although the Buffaloes currently are the last program he's visit officially, everything he's gotten to know about CU thus far has him excited to see everything in person.
“I’ve gotten all good vibes from all the coaches," he said. "They seem super down to earth and all real people and I’m sure they are, but you kind of can’t really tell until you meet them in-person. Then I can get a better idea.”
“It really seems like Colorado would be a sweet place to go to school and then the connection to coach Cook — we’ve built a super strong connection these last few months — that’s what made me want to check into it and get there and see it.”