Mike Love (American football)

Mike Love (born January 22, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Florida.

Mike Love
No. 56 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1994-01-22) January 22, 1994
Clearwater, Florida
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Countryside
(Clearwater, Florida)
College:South Florida
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:5
Sacks:0
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Player stats at NFL.com

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] On January 2, 2021, Love was promoted to the active roster for week 17 against the Miami Dolphins. On January 26, 2021, Love signed a reserves/futures contract with the Bills.[16]

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