2021 Season
After playing in 50 total games as a Wolverine, departed 5th year Senior Josh Ross leaves a big hole to fill in the middle of the Wolverines defense. He made 24 starts in total, and was a two-time captain and was a two-time All Big Ten team selection. He was a steady presence in the middle of Michigan’s defense for the past several seasons. With him now off to the NFL, who will step up to lead Michigan’s LB unit in 2022?
2022 Season
Rising Redshirt Sophomore Nikhai Hill-Green will return with the most experience. In total, he’s appeared in 18 games with 6 starts at LB. He’s made 50 tackles in his career, with 2 TFL and 1 PBU. He should continue his ascent and looks to be the starter at one of the LB positions entering 2022.
Then there’s rising Sophomore Junior Colson. Colson was a top-100 player in the country as a recruit. He brings a very impressive pedigree to the table. Overall, Colson flashed very good athleticism, coverage ability, and the ability to stuff the run. All of which makes him a valuable part of what the Wolverines plan to do on defense in 2022. He will be the other starting LB this season, next to Nikhai Hill-Green.
As a true Freshman in 2021, Colson ended up playing in all 14 games, making 7 starts at LB in 2021. He finished 4th on the team in tackles with 61, and chipped in 3 PBU’s, a fumble recovery, and 3 hurries for good measure. He’s already gotten some National accolades as well, as he was named First Team Freshman All-America by the Maxwell Club. With one season of experience already under his belt, I expect him to have a breakthrough Sophomore campaign that should place him among the best LB’s in the Big Ten, and maybe even the entire country as soon as this year.