From branding calves to the Bears: Colston Loveland’s journey from Idaho to Chicago

LAKE FOREST – Two days before one of the biggest days of his life, Colston Loveland went out to participate in a ritual he’d done for most of his life.

He branded some calves.

Loveland met up with some family and friends at his aunt and uncle’s house in Gooding, Idaho. There they gathered like they had years prior to help in the annual tradition of branding calves. He was part of a two-person team and flanked the head of the calf while someone else held the legs to brand it, vaccinate it and do whatever else was needed.

Two days later, on Thursday, Loveland returned to that same house with many of those same family members and friends. The community that helped raise him was there for the moment he’d waited for most of his life.

The Bears selected Loveland with the 10th overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday.

The Bears selected Loveland in the first round of the NFL draft.

“I think it’s a blessing to come from there,” Loveland told reporters Friday at Halas Hall. “I learned a lot of lessons and it’s going to take me a long ways.”

The town of roughly 3,700 people situated 100 miles southeast of Boise, Idaho, had already helped him accomplish a lot before Thursday.

After deciding to focus on football and basketball instead of rodeoing around fifth grade, Loveland became a top national prospect because of his size and speed. He caught the eye of former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and committed to the Wolverines.

At Michigan, Loveland started to scratch the surface of being an elite tight end. He became a tough pass-catching target to stop with his 6-foot-6, 248-pound frame and helped Michigan with a national championship his sophomore season.

“It was pretty easy,” Loveland said of adjusting to playing in front of a bigger audience at Michigan. “At the end of the day, you’re playing football. You’re going out there playing the same sport you’ve been playing since you’ve been growing up.”

But Loveland brought his hometown with him to Michigan. Bears general manager Ryan Poles asked Loveland about his hand strength, which he noticed both as a receiver and a blocker. Loveland replied with a question of his own, asking Poles if he had ever put up a wire fence in Idaho before.

“I said, ‘No,’” Poles said Thursday. “But that explains it. He’s been doing some labor, and that kind of makes him who he is. When you watch the tape, you can see that.”

Poles also noticed a work ethic that might not always been seen on tape. Loveland credited that to his blue collar community.

“Hard work, consistency, just doing the best that you can do, better than anyone else around you,” Loveland said. “I feel like that correlates well to the football field.”

The Bears are hoping it correlates well with new head coach Ben Johnson’s offense. Poles decided to draft Loveland over Penn State tight end Tyler Warren because of how he fit in the Bears plans. That will include playing along with tight end Cole Kmet.

The Detroit Lions were one of the top teams in the league running two tight end sets with Johnson as their offensive coordinator. While Loveland finished with 117 receptions for 1,466 yards and 11 touchdowns over three seasons with the Wolverines, Poles said Loveland’s blocking skills could create many mismatches.

“It’s versatile,” Poles said. “We can do whatever we need to do. We can run the ball and play a physical brand of football. If you match that with a more physical, bigger personnel group? Well, you have a mismatch on your hands, as well. It’s multiple and it allows Ben [Johnson] to do what he does best, which, one, is to have a physical brand of football, but also be creative and do some things that are going to put teams in a pickle.”

Loveland will need to wait before he starts creating those mismatches. He’s three months removed from having shoulder surgery and said he’s three months away from being fully cleared. The injury affected him for most of the season after hurting it against Arkansas State in September, but he adjusted to it over time.

“I think it’s a blessing to come from there. I learned a lot of lessons and it’s going to take me a long ways.”

—  Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears tight end

He told reporters he has a full range of motion in his shoulder and can do everything except lift very heavy objects.

Once he does get back on the field, he’ll carry the lessons he learned in Gooding and bring them to Chicago. He’s ready to get to work.

“I love everyone here, the coaching staff is great,” Loveland said. “I’m excited to go win games.”