With Colston Loveland gone to the NFL, the Michigan football team is going to need a new tight end to step up this season. Marlin Klein’s time is here. Klein got a good amount of playing time last season, and he showed a lot of promise. We all know how much the Wolverines love to use their TEs, and TE coach Steve Casula has been working hard to get Klein ready for a major role this season.
Marlin Klein has been putting in the work to be the best possible player that he can be, and the work is paying off. He gives all of the credit to Steve Casula.
“He's definitely the best thing that has ever happened to me in my game,” Klein said, according to an article from 247Sports. “He's taken my game to the next level, and I see it every single day. The things that he's taught me, the guys that he's been around — like Ronnie Bell, he was here with Nico Collins, and obviously, we had a guy [Loveland] that went 10th overall this past year — he's been the best tight end coach in the country, and he'll continue to be that.”
It sounds like Klein has been Casula’s offseason project. After what we have seen from Michigan TEs in recent years, the expectation is for that kind of production to continue. Casula needs that to happen, and he knows that Klein is capable.
“We went to the jungle. … It was him and me,” Klein continued. “And it was really run-game specific, because that's what I was going to do before last season. It was the most critical time of my life, and it was never good enough. But that was really just because he tried to push me to my best.”
Last season, Marlin Klein hauled in 13 receptions for 108 yards. The 6’6” 247 lbs product out of Germany received more targets toward the end of the season when Colston Loveland was injured, and he will be the primary TE for the Michigan football team this season. He is ready for a breakout season, and when it happens, he will have Steve Casula to thank.