Michigan Football adds explosive LB Junior Colson as 2021 commit

Michigan football got a commitment from highly coveted four-star linebacker Junior Colson, adding an explosive athlete to the 2021 class.

Before Sunday, Michigan football hadn’t really landed an elite player on defense in the 2021 class, not a player recognized by all the different recruiting services as a top guy.

Well, that changed, when four-star outside linebacker Junior Colson committed to Michigan football Sunday afternoon. He’s ranked 118th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings and eighth overall among outside linebackers.

According to the Rivals rankings, Colson is listed even higher. He’s 83rd overall and third among outside linebackers which seems like a more accurate reflection of his abilities.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker made the announcement via his Twitter account.

Colson is the No. 3 player now in the 2021 class for Michigan football, which jumped into the top 10 of the 247 sports’ team rankings. The Wolverines are now ranked eighth overall with 14 commitments. Six of the players committed are rated as a four stars or higher.

Regardless of his ranking, Colson is a really exciting player and he’s an absolutely perfect fit for what Don Brown and the Wolverines want to do on defense. He’s a former wide receiver and according to his high school coach, via The Michigan Insider, he runs 4.5 in the 40. Here’s more of what Matt Daniels, his coach said about Colson:

"“We utilized him in a way he’s going to be utilized at the next level, and that’s kind of all over the place,” said Daniels. “He played inside backer and outside backer for us depending on the matchup we liked. He wasn’t a pure pass rusher for us in a consistent outside linebacker spot. He was more of a blitzer.”"

That means he could be an inside linebacker, a la Devin Bush, he could be a guy like Josh Uche, because he did have 12 sacks last season or he could be a viper like Khaleke Hudson. Either way, the possibilities are endless and exciting.

Colson probably isn’t a pure pass rusher like Josh Uche was last season, but with some tutelage and his physical tools, he could be scary coming off the edge. However, his ability to blitz and create pressure, as well as cover, means he’d also fit where Bush and Hudson used to play.

His college position could be determined by his body and how much he bulks up, etc. But he’s going to be fun to watch and wherever he plays, he’s likely to make an impact.