During his time in Ann Arbor, Loveland became a huge fan of first-year Bears coach Ben Johnson’s work as Lions offensive coordinator. The two then hit it off when Johnson attended Loveland’s Pro Day.
“Just love the guy,” Loveland said. “Before I even met him, just watching Detroit last year, the things they were doing, man, really smart. Knows what he’s doing. Knows football. Finally being able to talk with him and meet with him and pick his brain, I’m the No. 1 fan of that guy, for sure. He’s legit. He’s a stud. I know he’s going to put us in a great position, put Chicago in a great position to win games. I’m super excited for it.”
Loveland revealed that when he met with Johnson, the coach told him that the Michigan product reminded him of Lions Pro Bowl tight end Sam LaPorta, who has caught 146 passes for 1,615 yards and 17 TDs in his first two NFL seasons in Detroit.
“They were kind of asking me who are some of my favorite tight ends, and I mentioned a couple and I threw LaPorta’s name in there,” Loveland said. “Shout out to him, too. Heck of a player. Coach Johnson’s like, ‘Yeah, you remind me a lot of him. We can do a lot of things—we did a lot of things with LaPorta.’ And he’s like, ‘I can see you doing a lot of those things as well.’
“That was pretty cool to hear. And now seeing it all come full circle, I’m excited. I know he’s great and he’s going to do great for Chicago.”
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