Mike Love (American football) explained

Mike Love
Position:Defensive end
Birth Date:22 January 1994
Birth Place:Clearwater, Florida, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:255
High School:Countryside
(Clearwater, Florida)
College:South Florida
Undraftedyear:2018
Pastteams:
Statlabel1:Total tackles
Statvalue1:7
Statlabel2:Sacks
Statlabel3:Forced fumbles
Statlabel4:Fumble recoveries
Pfr:LoveMi00

Mike Love (born January 22, 1994) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at South Florida.

Early life and high school

Love was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida and attended Countryside High School. Love was a standout defensive end for the Cougars and was rated a three-star prospect by several recruiting services, but lost interest from many high-profile programs due to academic struggles.[1] He ultimately committed to play college football for the nearby University of South Florida (USF) over offers from Arizona, Indiana, Iowa State, Louisville, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, and West Virginia, among others.[2]

College career

Love spent five years at South Florida, redshirting his freshman year after suffering a knee injury early in the season.[3] After missing most of his redshirt freshman season due to injury, Love became a regular starter for the Bulls during his redshirt junior season, registering 27 tackles and three sacks.[4] In his final season, Love set career highs with 28 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and three passes defended.[5] He finished his collegiate career with 64 tackles, 18.5 for a loss, and 8.5 sacks with one forced fumble in 32 games.[6] Love graduated from USF with a bachelor's degree in criminology in 2016 and a master's in entrepreneurship in 2018.[7]

Professional career

Love signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018.[8] He was cut by the team at the end of training camp and subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 2, 2018.[9] Love was promoted from the practice squad to the Bills' active roster on December 5, 2018.[10] Love made his NFL debut on December 16, 2018 in a 14-13 win against the Detroit Lions, recording one tackle.[11] Love played in three games with five tackles in his rookie season.[12]

On August 28, 2019, Love was placed on injured reserve.[13]

On September 5, 2020, Love was waived by the Bills and signed to the practice squad the next day.[14] [15] He was elevated to the active roster on January 2, 2021, for the team's week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[16] On January 26, 2021, Love signed a reserves/futures contract with the Bills.[17]

On August 31, 2021, Love was waived by the Bills and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[18] [19] After the Bills were eliminated in the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs, he signed a reserve/future contract on January 24, 2022.[20]

On August 30, 2022, Love was waived by the Bills and signed to the practice squad the next day.[21] [22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Latest Recruiting News on Mike Love, Countryside DE. BigCountyPreps.com. November 21, 2012. May 11, 2019.
  2. Web site: USF keeps Mike Love home. ESPN.com. January 20, 2013. May 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: USF Football Player Profile: #98 DE Mike Love. Jamie. DeVriend. TheDailyStampede.com. SB Nation. May 20, 2017. December 5, 2018.
  4. Web site: True love trumps draft? That's kind of the case for USF DL Mike Love. Bob. Putnam. Tampa Bay Times. April 17, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  5. Web site: 2018 Buffalo Bills scouting report: defensive end Mike Love. Sean. Murphy. BuffaloRumblings.com. SB Nation. July 26, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  6. Web site: New England Patriots 2018 7-round mock draft 1.0. Logan. Jakubajtys. CLNSMedia.com. February 26, 2018. May 11, 2019.
  7. Web site: USF's Mike Love's Good Vibrations Are Sure To Follow Him To The Pros. Jay. Levy. BigCountyPreps.com. March 30, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  8. Web site: Bills continue to add undrafted free agents. Jay. Shurski. The Buffalo News. April 28, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  9. Web site: Buffalo Bills add eight recent cuts to practice squad. Matt. Warren. BuffaloRumblings.com. SB Nation. September 2, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  10. Web site: Bills release WR Kelvin Benjamin in a series of roster moves. Chris. Brown. BuffaloBills.com. December 4, 2018. December 5, 2018.
  11. Web site: GAME RECAP: Josh Allen, Robert Foster lead Bills to one-point victory over Detroit. Kyle. Silagyi. BuffaloBills.com. December 16, 2018.
  12. Web site: Mike Love 2018 Game Log. Pro-Football-Reference.com. May 11, 2019.
  13. News: Brown, Chris . Bills placed DE Mike Love on I-R; waive OL De'Ondre Wesley . BuffaloBills.com . August 28, 2019 . August 30, 2019.
  14. Web site: Bills announce these moves to get to the 53-man roster limit. Brown, Chris. BuffaloBills.com. September 5, 2020.
  15. Web site: Bills announce the initial 2020 practice squad. BuffaloBills.com. September 6, 2020.
  16. News: Tyler Kroft placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list + four players elevated for Bills vs. Dolphins . BuffaloBills.com . January 2, 2021 . February 13, 2021.
  17. Web site: January 26, 2021. Bills signed these 13 players to reserve/future contracts. 2021-01-27. www.buffalobills.com. en-US.
  18. Web site: Bills release 23 players to set the initial 2021 53-man roster. BuffaloBills.com. August 31, 2021.
  19. Web site: Bills sign 15 players to the 2021 practice squad. BuffaloBills.com. September 1, 2021.
  20. Web site: Bills sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts for 2022. BuffaloBills.com. January 24, 2022. January 24, 2022. Chris. Jenkins.
  21. Web site: Roster moves: Bills set initial 53-man roster. BuffaloBills.com. August 30, 2022.
  22. Web site: Bills sign 13 players to practice squad. BuffaloBills.com. August 31, 2022.