Colston Loveland has been fortunate to have had some exceptional head coaches during his football career. It started with Cameron Andersen in high school, who enjoyed 13 successful seasons at Gooding High School. Next, the young tight end came under the tutelage of Jim Harbaugh, one of the best head coaches of the past 20 years, college and the NFL. They won a national championship together at Michigan. Now, Loveland arrived in Chicago right as the Bears hired Ben Johnson to take over.
Did the tight end's good fortune continue?
It sure seems like it. After a quiet start to teh season, Loveland exploded onto the scene last week with 118 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati. His 58-yard catch-and-run for the winning score with 23 seconds left secured him Offensive Player of the Week honors. Throughout the process, Loveland has immediately recognized how much of a wizard Johnson is. People can see his genius on Sundays, but that doesn't tell nearly the whole story. He explained how locked in the coach is during weekly film sessions.
He explained to Cassie Carlson of Fox 32 Chicago.
Colston Loveland can see the advantage Johnson provides.
Having a head coach who sees every weakness an opposing defense has can be almost unfair. This is a big reason why the Bears rank top 10 in nearly every offensive category. If their current ranking (4th) holds, it will be the highest finish this offense has had since 1965. Their last top-10 ranking was in 2013. For Johnson to turn this operation around so quickly should tell you a lot about his influence. Everything didn't just magically come together by chance. It came from his uncanny attention to detail and relentless demand.
That suits Colston Loveland just fine. Hard work is something he's known all his life, having grown up in ranch country. This was a coach who spoke his language from the very beginning. It's no wonder the two seemed to hit it off right away. All the rookie had to do was keep grinding, and his time would come. Johnson finally took the training wheels off in Cincinnati.
