We can finally put this alarming truism about Michigan's 2021 recruiting to rest: the Wolverines have a four-star commit on defense. Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood linebacker Junior Colson, a top-125 overall prospect on the 247 Composite, announced his pledge to Michigan this afternoon over fellow finalists LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, and home state Tennessee.

COMMITTED!!!

pic.twitter.com/lcao2jxQ7x

— Junior Colson (@JuniorColson) May 24, 2020

Colson is the 14th commit in M's 2021 class, which—if my class calculator work from earlier today is correct—now ranks seventh in the country. 

GURU RATINGS

Colson ranks within the top 200 overall prospects on all three sites, with Rivals particularly bullish on him and ESPN the relative skeptic by a small margin. His general trend has been to move up the rankings, save for a brief moment last fall when Rivals had him at #34 overall(!) before moving him down to #100—even in that case, he's since risen almost 20 spots, which is tough to do when you're ranked high early in the process.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

Colson started catching big-time attention during last spring's camp season. While still raw at linebacker after moving there from wide receiver, his upside was apparent. He caught the eye of 247's Barton Simmons at the Opening's Nashville regional in May:

2021 linebacker Junior Colson, another product of Ravenwood out of Brentwood, Tenn. was among the most athletic linebackers on hand and is only one year in to playing the position.

The following month, Colson camped at Michigan and earned an offer, adding to a list that already included Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech, among others.

Rivals invited Colson to their Five-Star Challenge, where Adam Gorney named him to their All-Lobby Team for being one of the most impressive-looking players:

For a 2021 prospect, Colson is filled out, he has long arms and is easily 215 pounds but could add more weight to play around 230 without a problem. The Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood standout also has surprisingly long arms and an absolutely great build for a young linebacker. After taking a look at him it’s stunning that he only has 12 offers because coaches that stop by his school have to love the way he’s built.

They subsequently moved Colson into their top 100:

“Colson is a quick twitch linebacker who moves extremely well and has a big frame he’s already filling out. I like his length and coverage skills and he can come downhill and hit.” -- National recruiting director Mike Farrell

As for actual games, Colson's junior season got him in line for a move up 247's rankings once they got a chance to break down the film:

Junior Colson, Tennessee (182, 13 OLB) – Colson tested really well last spring on the camp circuit at 204 pounds. He’s added about 20 pounds since then and still carries it well and is very athletic. His film was an eye-catcher to a few of our analysts that had yet to dig in on it as well.

They'd bump him up four places in the positional rankings, getting him to #9 among OLBs, and over 20 spots in the overall rankings.

Before sports stopped, Colson's added weight wasn't an issue on the camp scene. In January, Rod Cassidy of Rivals named him as one of the top performers at the NPA Sports camp in Nashville, even though those events are tough on linebackers:

It’s difficult for linebackers to shine in a camp setting, but Colson managed to do so. The 215-pound linebacker moves incredibly well laterally and can turn and run well enough in the event that he’s asked to cover downfield. He did a solid job of disrupting quarterbacks' reads during the 7-on-7 portion of the event.

When putting it all together for 247's free evaluation, Barton Simmons sees Colson as a more of a hybrid outside linebacker, though he sees the potential for a move inside with the right development:

Formerly slender, athletic linebacker with length that has already begun the process to add mass to support an in-the-box role on the next level. Former wide receiver that brings that kind of athleticism to the linebacker position. Loose hips and a natural in coverage. Good ball skills. Attractive as a nickel linebacker. Comfortable operating in space as a perimeter tackler. Good athlete that checks the combine testing box. Extremely productive on a one of the best teams in Tennessee. Sure tackler but not ferocious. Nothing jarring about point of attack physicality. More equipped to be an uncovered run and chase defender than a downhill box defender but is starting to evolve in that regard. Has flashed pass rush ability as a blitzer. Athletic traits and physical development points to an eventual Power Five impact starter with the potential to be a mid-to-late round NFL Draft talent.

There's a lot of upside to be explored, while the floor seems to be "useful passing-down specialist."

OFFERS

In addition to the top five—Michigan, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee—Colson holds offers from the following schools: Auburn, Baylor, Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, USC, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Mizzou, Nebraska, Purdue, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others. That's a strong, national list for a player from Tennessee.

HIGH SCHOOL

Ravenwood was a top-three program in Tennessee last season, according to MaxPreps, and they've been particularly strong in the 2020 and 2021 classes, so this looks like a developing pipeline. The 2020 class had four Power Five signees headlined by four-star Oklahoma-bound DE Reggie Grimes. Colson's 2021 classmates include top-100 Clemson TE commit Jake Briningstool and three-star linebacker Damon Owens, who holds a Penn State offer.

STATS

MaxPreps only has sophomore stats: 9 games, 34 tackles, six TFLs, and two sacks. Based on his junior highlights, it's safe to say he was significantly more productive in 2019.

FAKE 40 TIME

Colson has a combine-verified 40 time of 4.77 seconds from last spring, which if anything looks slow for him after looking at his tape. That gets zero FAKEs. He also posted a 4.31 shuttle and 34-inch vertical.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Junior highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Colson's positional fit is both unclear and fascinating. He's listed at 6'2", 228 pounds and moved to linebacker from wide receiver—you can see a lot of his knowledge from offense carried over to defense, particularly in his ability to read quarterbacks and play the ball. He currently looks like an outside/overhang linebacker with a focus on blitzing and pass coverage. He's got the frame to add some weight, however, and he plays a lot of his snaps as a true inside linebacker; if he can hack it against the run, that could be where he has the most upside.

Colson told 247's Steve Wiltfong that Michigan is looking for him to emulate a particular player and I bet you already guessed the pitch:

“They want to use me like they used Jabrill Peppers. I looked up to Jabrill since I was real young. I have a Jabrill Peppers jersey. It’s a great fit. I’m close with everyone on their staff. They talk to me every day. I talk to Coach Don Brown the defensive coordinator and a couple other people on the staff.”

In this case, that may not be recruiting smoke, so to speak. Peppers was a true weakside linebacker in his final season at Michigan. Colson wouldn't be the same player—he's bigger while Peppers covered for being 205 pounds with incredible athleticism—but the role could be quite similar. Having a linebacker on the field all three downs that you're confident can cover downfield against running backs and tight ends would be a huge boon to the defense.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan is up to 14 total commits and three at linebacker, with Colson joining three-stars Tyler McLaurin and Casey Phinney. The class now ranks second in the Big Ten, though still a far cry from Ohio State's #1 overall class. The coaches may look to bring in one more linebacker if there's an interested four-star; otherwise, they can probably stand pat at the position.

Positions of need going forward include running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle, a defensive end projected to stay on the edge, and hopefully a couple four-stars for the secondary. Here's the class as it currently stands: