The Chicago Bears always look for a specific type of player under GM Ryan Poles. Yes, they’re looking for elite talent. Every team does. A big focus for this regime, though, is elite character. Poles feels that great teams often have a core of great leaders. That is something the Bears have lacked probably since the 2000s. Hopes are high that things will start to change with Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Jaquan Brisker, Kyler Gordon, and Gervon Dexter all taking on greater leadership roles. Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze should do the same soon. The arrival of Colston Loveland raised eyebrows.
At first glance, not much was made of the Michigan tight end. He was a productive player on a run-oriented team that won a national championship. Yet some wondered what sold the Bears enough to take him 10th overall, which is exceedingly rare for tight ends. Part of it was his unique skill set, featuring size, length, speed, and route-running. As it turns out, another side to Loveland unquestionably sold the team that he had to be the pick. Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times found this out when learning about a speech the tight end gave to kids at a football camp in Idaho.
“Stay in the moment. Keep doing you. Whatever you love, just keep doing that. Uplift others around you. Be a good person, and you’ll go really far in life. As far as athletics go, whatever sport you’re into, if that’s something you really want to take seriously, if you want to get to that next level, you’ve got to do more than everyone. What you’re doing right now isn’t enough. Put your head down and go to work, because all of you can do that.”
Colston Loveland is a grinder.
He seems to delight in hard work. No doubt this stems from his life farming and ranching in the northwest. Hard work is a way of life up there. If you don’t learn to love it, you’ll go crazy. Colston Loveland developed a reputation as far back as fourth grade for constantly finding ways to push himself. The grinder mentality must’ve spoken immediately to Bears head coach Ben Johnson. He is built the same way. Great things are only achieved through hard work. It is only natural his first pick in a draft would be someone who embodies that. Having guys like this in the locker room is crucial. It forces everybody else to question their own work ethic. If this kid is working harder than I am, then what am I doing wrong? Loveland’s mindset bleeds into everyone around him.
