Jim Harbaugh: Michigan defender could be one of U-M’s best ever

Michigan has star potential at all three levels of the defense, a great nucleus for first-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. The interior defensive line appears to be a budding strength, there’s talent on the back end …

And in the middle is a player in Junior Colson who has All-American potential. He notched seven starts at linebacker, played all 14 games and finished fourth among all defenders with 61 tackles. He earned freshman All-America honors from the Maxwell Football Club and now becomes U-M’s unequivocal leader in the middle, replacing Josh Ross.

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That’s just fine with head coach Jim Harbaugh. 

“I love Junior,” he said on the In the Trenches Podcast with Jon Jansen. “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 he can run the defense.”

And then he paid the Michigan sophomore the ultimate compliment.

“He’s completely capable of being one of the best linebackers we’ve ever seen around here,” Harbaugh continued. “He’s very young. Just a very young player, so I probably should just say the longer it takes for Junior to figure out how good Junior is, the better off Junior is going to be. Because there’s always room [to improve]. You don’t want to think you’ve arrived. But that’s the kind of player he is.”

Next to him, redshirt frosh Nikhai Hill-Green returns after starting six of 14 games and notching 50 tackles. He broke out last spring as a Michigan player to watch, and he took another step this spring. 

So did Kalel Mullings, who spent time impressing at running back in playing both ways.

“Nikhai is just relentless, tough, has a motor,” Harbaugh said. “He is also one of a bunch of really good gifted, physical athletes. He had a heck of a good spring. 

“And Kalel Mullings is just right there with both of those guys … really elevated his game. He was playing with a cast the whole season last year. He had a surgery on his hand, but now that’s off, and just his ability to strike people and not have that pain or that cringe has really elevated his game.”

Michigan veteran Michael Barrett, meanwhile, started one game last year and made 20 tackles. He also played a big role against passing teams. 

“He’s a starter in our [six-DB]  packages, but also he’s backing up Junior right now at Will,” Harbaugh continued. “But he starts in packages. He’s a versatile player, excellent on special teams. He contributes a ton. 

“The young guys, [Michigan redshirt frosh] Jaydon Hood, I continue to like him a lot. He kept showing up in his true freshman year on our scout team, showing and flashing like [defensive tackle] Rayshaun Benny and some other guys. He’ll continue to work on [stuff] … he’s not as physical, not as big as Junior and Nikhai. So, keep working on his craft there, but I like him a lot.”

Finally, veteran Joey Velazquez has been “knocking it out of the park” for the Michigan baseball team, but he spent all spring with the football team. He’s excelled at times on special teams and has shown flashes of his potential. 

“He’s really made a lot of strides, was completely football all spring,” Harbaugh said. “We’d notice he’d sneak over to baseball get a pinch hit or a game winning triple over there. Do you know how hard that is to do? I was never a great hitter myself. But he was all football, then baseball when he could. Now, he’s over there full time with baseball. 

“He bleeds blue. Tremendous effort and motor. Just finding the ball, he has a nose for the ball. He continues to do so.”

They’ll add two good, young linebackers in Michigan freshmen Jimmy Rolder and Deuce Spurlock this fall, as well. 

“They’ll remind you of Big Ten linebackers,” Harbaugh said of the Michigan freshmen. “Guys you’ve been around, seen around. They are very much like Kalel and Nikhai and Junior. 

Giving Michigan a potentially great stable of linebackers this fall … and for the future.