Splash down: Loveland predicts his shoulder will be ready for start of Bears camp
Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland was asked how he would be spending the summer in his native Idaho, if he wasn't playing football.
“Definitely be outside,” he said. “I'd be (wake) surfing probably, maybe get on some jet skis, go camping. A bunch of outdoor activities. We've got a couple reservoirs and rivers we go on.”
Ten days before the start of his first NFL training camp, Loveland got a chance to get out on the water. It was indoors, though, at Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee.
Loveland took part in a unique charity event. While floating down the park's lazy river, he caught footballs thrown by patients from Lurie Children's Hospital. He also went down one of the tube slides with kids from the hospital.
“Very different, but it was a good time,” he said. “I think it was super cool. The football down the lazy river, that was a good idea. It was great to get out here with the kids.”
Loveland grew up in Gooding, Idaho, a town of 3,700 located in the south-central part of the state. He found immediate success as a freshman at Michigan and was chosen by the Bears with the No. 10 pick of the NFL Draft.
He made some important catches in the Wolverines' national title game win over Washington during his sophomore year, then missed the final two games last fall with a shoulder injury that required surgery. After toweling off from the lazy river, he answered some questions.
Q: How is your shoulder?
A: “It feels good. Best it's felt. Planning to go week one of camp. That's the plan. We'll see.”
Q: Fans love to hear about quarterbacks and receivers working out together in the offseason. Were you able to do any of that?
A: “Yeah, I did. Obviously, I've been catching balls and doing things like that. The quarterbacks, they were out in California doing a little throwing session. I was here rehabbing, though, so wasn't able to make it out. I've been out doing everything I can. I've been here all during this offseason, just trying to get right, get back on the field.”
Q: Any adjustments to living in a big city — or at least, the suburbs of a big city?
A: “No, you know how it is. Lake Forest, I wouldn't say that's a city. So I mean, Chicago, yeah, that's different, but it's not like I haven't been to a city before. I feel like the area we stay in and we're around is very similar to like Ann Arbor, so it's been a smooth adjustment.”
Q: How well have you gotten to know Bears quarterback Caleb Williams?
A: “Yeah, great dude. Got a good energy about him. I could tell he works very hard and he takes it serious. He's super cool, that's my guy, looking forward to just continuing to build it, especially on the field.”
Q: What about fellow tight end Cole Kmet?
A: “He's a great dude, and he's been welcoming with open arms. He's a pro, obviously, a vet. A lot I can learn from, for sure. He's been super great. I see him in the building all the time. We're normally working out about the same time.
“We did a workout together the other day, which is cool. So just being in that room with him, along with other guys like Durham (Smythe), just being a sponge and soaking it all in, soaking everything up I can.”
Q: Do you enjoy doing charity events like this?
A: “Yeah, it's what it's all about. It's bigger than just me. It's bigger than what I have going on. I'm religious as well. So I think spreading love and just spreading joy, do what I can to just make someone's day. I think that means a lot. So I'll always do that.”