Marlin Klein was among the standouts of the Michigan football Spring Game, backing up some of the offseason chatter with a four-catch, 36-yard afternoon at the Big House.
Described by teammate Colston Loveland as “the fastest tight end, probably the strongest tight end” on the roster, Klein seems poised for a breakout role this fall following AJ Barner’s departure to the NFL. His position coach, Steve Casula, even went as far as to pencil him in as a day-one starter.
And in an offense that could remain very tight-end centric — “I love tight ends,” offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said on Saturday — that spells opportunity.
“Tight end, the position has been really utilized here at the University of Michigan for the past 10, 15 years,” Klein said. “Guys like Jake Butt and all those guys. Especially with Colston Loveland — I mean, he’s the best tight end in college football right now. I’m just trying to be the other piece to that and win a lot of games this fall.”
The Spring Game was an opportunity for Michigan’s offense as a whole, which — depending on how you do the math — is replacing 10 of 11 starters from a season ago. On Sunday, many of the expected faces contributed: Colston Loveland made a pair of catches and Donovan Edwards ran with authority in their limited time. But there were new contributors, too, including Fredrick Moore (two catches, 76 yards, one touchdown) and Kendrick Bell (two receptions, 53 yards, one touchdown).
But even coaches and players acknowledged that Michigan’s receiver depth is lacking right now. The opposite seems to be true at tight end; the room includes 10 players, including U-M’s lone returning starter in Loveland.
From a tight end perspective on Saturday, Max Bredeson showed strong hands on a fourth-down catch, Deakon Tonielli demonstrated his speed during a 35-yard reception that included 22 yards after the catch, and Zack Marshall hauled in three of his four targets.
“I think we’re going to be an extremely explosive offense. We’ve got really explosive players and it’s my job to get them the ball,” Campbell said.
That includes Klein, Campbell explained, saying the tight end is “going to be one of those guys” considered among the best on the team. Klein was happy to embrace that label and named several others who he thinks will stand out this fall.
“Obviously, Colston Loveland: just a big guy, fast guy. He’s just great at what he does,” Klein said. “I’m putting myself up there and then guys that you saw today, like Fredrick Moore, Kendrick Bell. Those guys got speed and they’re pretty good at football.”
When it comes to his own game, Klein said he hopes to emulate Loveland over his next two years at Michigan.
“But also, Max Bredesen, you might think he’s a fullback, but he can run the ball, he can catch the ball,” Klein said. “Coach Campbell has been doing a great job, especially during spring, utilizing us and just being able to give us the ball in our hands.”
And given Michigan’s relative lack of depth at receiver and the uncertainty at quarterback, Klein thinks leaning on the tight ends will be valuable for the Wolverines this fall.
“If you’re in 12 personnel [one running back, two tight ends], you have those big bodies out there that go up and catch the ball,” he said. “It makes the job easier for the quarterback and especially for the offensive coordinator.”
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