{"id":1726,"date":"2025-06-22T13:08:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T13:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1726"},"modified":"2025-06-22T13:08:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T13:08:27","slug":"bears-colston-loveland-felt-all-kinds-of-love-back-home-in-idaho-over-the-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1726","title":{"rendered":"Bears’ Colston Loveland felt all kinds of love back home in Idaho over the weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"


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POCATELLO, Idaho \u2014 Colston Loveland\u2019s jersey was retired here Saturday.<\/p>\n

No, not his Bears<\/a> No. 84. Not his Michigan No. 18. Not his Gooding High School No. 5.<\/p>\n

Honored on this day was the No. 80 jersey he wore when he dominated the annual Idaho All-State Game for eighth-graders in 2017. Eight years later, the pride of the Gem State was cheered by youth football standouts and their families as he walked to the 50-yard line inside the ICCU Dome on the campus of Idaho State University, a two-hour drive due east from where he grew up.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we\u2019re not just celebrating a career, we\u2019re celebrating a journey,\u201d the stadium announcer said. \u201cA journey that started right here at the All-State Game. Colston, thank you for inspiring the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loveland\u2019s high school coach, Cam Anderson, was at his side and imparted a brief message for all to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love him,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cGo, Bears!\u201d<\/p>\n

That had a nice ring to it.<\/p>\n

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Colston Loveland had his Idaho All-State Game jersey retired today in Pocatello, before the eighth-grade game in which little bro Cash played. pic.twitter.com\/xtZWAPU8K7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) June 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all going to be Bears fans now,\u201d promised Loveland\u2019s little brother, Cash, a wide receiver in this year\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

A lot is riding on the shoulders of the Bears\u2019 just-turned-21 tight end, a surprise pick at No. 10 overall in April\u2019s draft. As Loveland sees it, he\u2019ll be playing for all of Idaho. As Bears fans see it, he\u2019ll be a game-changer or else what was the point? And as the football world sees it, proof will come one way or the other about who should\u2019ve been the first tight end off the board, Loveland or the Colts\u2019 pick at No. 14, Penn State\u2019s uber-productive Tyler Warren.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a dang good player,\u201d Loveland said. \u201cSuper good dude, too. He\u2019s going to do well. He\u2019s going to have a good career.\u201d<\/p>\n

And speaking of shoulders \u2014 Loveland had AC joint surgery on his right one in January, limiting his participation in minicamps and OTAs \u2014 it hasn\u2019t been easy to hit the ground watching in the NFL. Not that Loveland admits as much.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always want to go out there and compete as a competitor and a football player,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to just take precautions and do it the right way, take mental reps and stay in the playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mom tells it differently, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone knows him, they know how much he wanted to be out there playing and practicing,\u201d Rachel Faulkner said. \u201cIt was very hard for him to sit and watch and wait to recover. But he\u2019s such a good kid, such a good guy, a team player. He\u2019s going to kick butt for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loveland plans to live alone for the first time as a rookie.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s got to do it at some point,\u201d he said. \u201cThe life aspect is always good as long as you keep the faith. Everything will work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

He still leaned on his mom on multiple trips to a laundromat during those first days in Lake Forest. She made him waffles, too \u2014 his favorite, let the record show. As Loveland looked around at the big home where he\u2019ll be living, he surmised that he might need a girlfriend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not why you have a girlfriend,\u201d Faulkner corrected him.<\/p>\n

She laughed sharing that anecdote, but her worries about sending a 21-year-old into the world are relatively small. Four years ago, it was a much different story when she dropped Loveland off at Michigan as a 17-year-old early enrollee midway through what was supposed to be his senior year at Gooding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want him to miss his prom, didn\u2019t want him to miss his graduation, all the things,\u201d she said. \u201cBut he handled it like a professional, didn\u2019t miss a beat, didn\u2019t seem homesick, made lifelong friends there, which is important. That\u2019s a long ways away to send your 17-year-old, so I struggled. But I don\u2019t think he struggled at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those lifelong friends is J.J. McCarthy, the new starting quarterback for the Vikings, whom the Bears will host in the regular-season opener. They capped the 2023 season together with a national championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my guy,\u201d Loveland said. \u201cI hope he does well. It\u2019ll be exciting when we play them Week 1, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

In eighth grade, Loveland was only 5-11 and 170 or so pounds. He \u2014 and everyone else \u2014 knew he was different, though. As a Gooding freshman, he was more like 6-1, 180 and played in two games before his JV coaches told Anderson, \u201cHe can\u2019t be here anymore. There\u2019s nothing we can do for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loveland began his sophomore year at 6-4 and pushing 200 pounds. By the end of it, he was 6-5 and 230.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s 6-6 and 240-plus now, a specimen.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I prayed for and dreamed of has worked out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But \u201ceverything\u201d is still to come. First up is the sort of rookie season that gets everyone talking, not just the folks here.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir, man,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait. It\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n