Michigan Football: Wolverines in pole position with 4-star Junior Colson

Michigan football has been working hard on four-star linebacker Junior Colson and one recruiting expert has U-M as the favorite.

Adding athletic, hybrid linebackers is something Michigan football has been trying to do in recent years and when it comes to 2021, the Wolverines are in solid position to land one in four-star linebacker Junior Colson.

Colson is out of Brentwood, Tennessee, not a place Michigan football normally recruits, but the Wolverines have had heavy interest in Colson, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker who is listed 126th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings and 10th among outside linebackers.

Prior to becoming a linebacker, Colson actually played receiver according to Barton Simmons of 247 sports who placed a crystal ball prediction for Colson to the Wolverines recently and wrote about it here ($).

Simmons said that after playing receiver as a freshman, Colson switched to linebacker and as a junior, his numbers were off the charts, finishing with 175 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.

Colson is still growing into what he could be on the defensive side of the ball, but looking into the future, it’s easy to see him being a dominant force on the field for the Wolverines.

Not only is Colson disruptive against the run, he’s explosive, physical and athletic enough to hold his own in pass coverage. Honestly, in some ways, he sort of sounds like an ideal Viper.

That might depend on just how big he gets. If he continues to add weight, he might not be bad playing the SAM as Josh Uche did last season. He’s certainly shown some pass-rush skills or at least the ability to be effective when used in blitz packages.

Devin Bush Jr. is someone who comes to mind here. Bush wasn’t quite as tall as Colson but he’s obviously very athletic but had a knack for pressuring the quarterback too, notching 10 sacks over this last two seasons with Michigan football.

Colson could be that kind of player too and with his ability to cover, he might actually be exactly what the Wolverines need at middle or at the weak-side linebacker spot.

This program needs to get better at covering guys in space and getting a commitment from Colson would certainly be a step in the right direction. And according to Simmons, the Wolverines are in good shape as he reported this:

"“His family happens to like Michigan and the scope of the Michigan experience appears to be appealing. According to one person with insight into his recruitment, Michigan appears to be the clear leader. Tennessee and Ole Miss are to be top contenders in addition to the Wolverines.”"

You’d expect Tennessee to be in the mix and of course, with Chris Partridge now at Ole Miss, that will be an interesting battle. Yet, it’s clear that Colson is a priority and with new assistant Brian Jean-Mary working on it, the Wolverines are the favorite.

Hopefully, it stays that way, especially with Jamari Buddin’s recruitment up in the air.