Michigan Football: 4 Storylines to watch in second half

Young Stars Emerging?

A major reason why Michigan football has returned to the form of early Jim Harbaugh-led teams is because of a relative youth movement on both sides of the football, but particularly on defense.

True freshman linebacker Junior Colson was recently named a Freshman All-American by 247Sports.com, and he has been a catalyst for the growth of this defense from last season to now.

Registering 20 tackles, one fumble recovered, and one pass defended, Colson has been a major contributor in the middle of Mike Macdonald’s resurgent defense.

The Brentwood, Tennessee native has earned heavy praise from coaches and now the media, with some going as far as predicting him to be a future All-American for the Wolverines.

Two other breakout youngsters have been making an impact on the defensive line, those being sophomores Kris Jenkins and Braiden McGregor.

Both members of the 2020 recruiting class, Jenkins and McGregor have been very solid depth pieces on a defensive line that has surpassed expectations this season.

Jenkins getting more run thus far than McGregor has amassed nine tackles this year, with five of them coming against Washington.

While McGregor has only two tackles on the year, he has shown an ability to affect plays even when it doesn’t show up in the box score, much like senior captain Aidan Hutchinson did in his first two seasons in the Maize and Blue.

Monitoring the growth of these young studs on the Michigan defense will be important for not only the rest of the 2021 season, but for 2022 and beyond as the Wolverines will look to replace the presumed departures of Hutchinson, Josh Ross, and others.