It didn’t take long for the Michigan Wolverines to realize that Junior Colson was among their best options at linebacker — despite being a true freshman.
Normally, when you’re playing a first-year player at linebacker, something has gone terribly wrong, but for Colson, he was an athletic fanatic with an instinctive flair for the football. He helped save and seal the game for the Maize and Blue in just Week 4 of the 2021 season as Rutgers made a late charge. He ranked fourth on the team with 61 tackles in his first year of college football and played in all 14 games that season.
In 2022, he took the next step, leading the Wolverines with 101 tackles and adding six tackles for loss and two sacks. And although his stats were down in 2023, it was his best season to date, although he recorded 95 tackles, two of which were missed.
And on Friday, Haitian-born Colson made his dreams come true by being selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the 69th overall pick. He’s Jim Harbaugh’s first choice of a former Wolverine since he left the show in January.
Playing high school ball in Brentwood (Tn.) Ravenwood, Colson was athletic and fast, also playing running back before coming to Ann Arbor. A sprinter, Colson ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at his pro day.
Colson leaves Michigan football with one year of eligibility on the line, having played just three years in Ann Arbor.
