In many respects, Marlin Klein isn’t your typical football player.
He has all the physical trappings and talent of your average NCAA D1 player, but unlike the vast majority of them, eight years ago, the junior tight end hadn’t even played a down of football in his backyard. Hailing from Germany, Klein, “like everybody in Europe” had spent most of his athletic career up to that point focused on a different type of football. But eight years ago, Klein decided it was time for a change.
“I just didn’t want to be like anybody else,” Klein said Friday. “My dad knew somebody at the local football club, so that’s how I started playing football. … It was really the first practice, that’s when I came back home and was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ It was just different, so much more to learn.”
And as Klein fell in love with the sport, it set in motion a years-long learning process that’s landed him at the doorstep of significant playing time for the Michigan football team. He transitioned first from soccer clubs to football clubs. Then, from Cologne, Germany to Rabun Gap, Georgia — refining his English along the way. And now, finally, he’s taken the past two years to build himself into a tool the Wolverines can use.
Up to this point in his career, Klein has spent the vast majority of his time in special teams roles — logging only one reception in his first two years. But with the departure of former tight end A.J. Barner to the NFL, there’s now room for another tight end to play alongside junior standout Colston Loveland, and Michigan is hoping that Klein will be the person to fill that gap.
Standing 6-foot-6,” Klein is tall and “freaky” fast, as duly noted by his teammates and The Athletic’s Bruce.
“Marlin is the fastest tight end, probably the strongest tight end, biggest tight end,” Loveland said in March. “He’s got it all there.”
But the physical traits that Klein brings to the field aren’t the areas where he feels he’s matured the most. In fact, for Klein, much of his first two years has been spent building a deeper understanding of the game and learning how to utilize his physical tools.
“Coming out of high school, I was just the fast guy,” Klein said. “Really, moving over here in 2019 I just started playing football six, seven years ago. So just really learning the game. I was already an established athlete, but just learning how to play the game and why we do things (is where I’ve improved the most).”
And in the role that Klein would likely occupy, Klein will need more than just speed. Last year, the Wolverines utilized a similarly-built Barner heavily in blocking schemes. That’s something that Klein has had to prepare for, and something that didn’t come for him right away.
“Coming out of high school, I’d really never put my hand in the dirt,” Klein said. “… Putting my hand in the dirt, being more physical for the first time, coming out of high school, that was the biggest challenge for me. But being able to learn from those guys that have done that for multiple years, it’s been great.”
As Michigan ramps up for its season, Loveland is one of the players with the fewest question marks — the returning star has shown what he can do. Last season, he was the Wolverines’ second-most productive receiver in terms of yardage, adding four touchdowns to boot.
But the same cannot be said about Klein. To the outside world, Klein is an unknown talent with excellent physical tools. How he puts those tools together to compliment Loveland, and produce in his own right, remains to be seen.
But one thing can be said with certainty, from playing soccer in Germany, to Rabun Gap for high school, to Michigan’s bench for two years and now possibly a season in the limelight, Klein’s path has been anything but average. And the Wolverines ramp up for their season, they’re hoping that the results are better than average as well.
The post Marlin Klein looking to bring physical tools, refined knowledge in expanded role appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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