Junior Colson

Junior Colson (born December 6, 2002) is a Haitian-American football linebacker. A native of Haiti, he moved to the United States at age 9. Colson played college football at Michigan, winning the national championship and 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. 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."

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 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.

As a sophomore, Colson led the 2022 Wolverines with 80 tackles. 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.

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