The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1473191
94 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW swered with his usual smile and spent sev- eral minutes engaging. "It felt great," he said. "Just being out there and trying to instill in them all the nuggets that I was instilled with while I've been in college … it was great being back with little kids, seeing them grow up, seeing how they get better as they go on throughout practice." He and his classmates, including Mc- Carthy, running back D o n ova n E d wa r d s , wide receiver Andrel A n t h o ny a n d s ev - eral others spent their break time exchanging laughs and further ce- menting their bond. Colson wasn't sure what to expect when he first arrived at Mich- igan, other than knowing he was part of a highly ranked group. Now, though, his class has a chance to be one of the best in recent memory, and there's nobody he'd rather share it with. "It's been awesome," he said. "All of us are best friends. All of us do everything together. We talk about everything. It's a brotherhood. "People always told me, these are the guys that going to be your best friends the rest of your life. Those guys are the ones that will go to your wedding. It's been showing lately, being around these guys." It's "a joy," he said, and he's not alone in feeling it. He and his teammates have cut out the outside noise about having to replace the players who left, he noted, and have taken different approaches toward dealing with last year's success, which included a Big Ten title. When they get back this fall, however, it's going to be all business. Like many of his sophomore teammates, he's ready to contrib- ute even more after a first year in which he earned Freshman All-America honors from the Maxwell Football Club after notching 61 tackles in 14 games, including seven starts. Much more will be expected of him in 2022, and he knows it. New defensive coor- dinator Jesse Minter has been outstanding, he said, and the transition from Mike Mac- donald seamless. At the same time, while it's year two of a similar defense, there are some differences, Colson noted. "It's still the same, but we've got to find new ways to generate pressure," he said. "We don't have two crazy athletic edge rushers. It's different. I think it plays to more complementary foot- ball instead of just letting the edge rushers eat. … Now, I've just got to be able to make the play. "One thing coach tells me is the play is out there for everybody to make. Just go out there and make the play." In its preseason magazine, Athlon Sports tabbed Colson as a "rising star" who is primed for a "breakout" season in 2022. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "Junior really has it all. He's got a great work ethic, great attitude, all the physical skills … He's really smart. A guy that you know can run the defense. I love Junior." U-M HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH