Junior Colson
Colson with the Michigan Wolverines in 2024
Michigan Wolverines – No. 25
PositionLinebacker
ClassJunior
Personal information
Born: (2002-12-06) December 6, 2002
Mirebalais, Haiti
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight247 lb (112 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolRavenwood (Brentwood, Tennessee)
Career highlights and awards

Junior Colson (born December 6, 2002) is an American football linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines. He was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at age nine. As a sophomore and junior, he led the Michigan Wolverines football team in tackles and was selected into the second-team All-Big Ten Conference football team twice. He was awarded the Lott Trophy in 2023.

Early life and high school career

Colson was born in Mirebalais, Haiti. His father died when he was seven years old, and he was placed in an orphanage in Port-au-Prince operated by his uncle. At age eight, he met Americans Steve and Melanie Colson who visited Haiti on a church mission after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He was adopted by the Colsons and, after a lengthy adoption and immigration process, moved to Tennessee at age nine in May 2012.[1][2][3] He recalled that, on arriving at the airport in the United States, "The first thing I saw in America was a Michigan hat. That's what all of my family members were wearing, they're big Michigan fans."[4]

Colson grew up speaking Haitian Creole and learned English only after moving to Tennessee. He also grew up playing soccer and took up American football, playing linebacker at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee. Considered a four-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Colson was listed as the No. 10 linebacker in the nation in 2021, and the No. 2 prospect in Tennessee. He committed to play college football at Michigan over offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Tennessee.

College career

Colson in 2021

Colson met Michigan Wolverines football coach Jim Harbaugh at the Michigan football camp and was offered a scholarship to play football. He enrolled at Michigan in 2021 and started seven games as a true freshman for the 2021 Wolverines, totaled 61 tackles (fourth most on the team), and was selected as a freshman All-American.[5][6]

As a sophomore, Colson led the 2022 Wolverines with 80 tackles.[7] At the end of the season, he was selected by the conference coaches as a second-team linebacker and by media as a third-team linebacker on the All-Big Ten team.[8]

As a junior, Colson led the 2023 Wolverines with 71 tackles.[9] Colson was named an All-Big Ten second-team linebacker by both the coaches and media.[10] He also won the Lott IMPACT Trophy.[9][11]

References

  1. ↑ Orion Sang (June 27, 2020). "Father's dying wish made him an orphan. Now he's Michigan football's best linebacker recruit". Detroit Free Press.
  2. ↑ "Michigan X-factor: LB Junior Colson, who 'really has it all'". Mlive.com. May 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ "From Haiti to Ann Arbor, Michigan's Junior Colson knows how to adapt". The Athletic. May 20, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Junior Colson's Incredible Journey To Michigan". SI.com. June 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Junior Colson". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Junior Colson more comfortable, playing faster as he enters his second season with Michigan football". USA Today. August 12, 2022.
  7. ↑ "2022 Michigan Football Statistics". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Michigan's Mike Morris, Jake Moody earn Big Ten player of the year awards". Mlive.com. November 29, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Lott IMPACT® Trophy – 2023 Winner Michigan's Junior Colson - Lott IMPACT® Trophy". lottimpacttrophy.org. December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Big Ten all-conference football team: Defense, special teams selections for 2023 season". Detroit Free Press. November 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ Tony Garcia (December 11, 2023). "Michigan football's Junior Colson earns prestigious honor as Lott IMPACT Trophy winner". Detroit Free Press.
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