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Just about every year, you can count on at least one, if not more, first-year players coming in and having an instant impact. We saw it in 2016 when Chris Evans came out of the gates in the running backs rotation — and also when Ben Bredeson started at left guard — in 2017 when Donovan Peoples-Jones led the receiving room, in 2019 when Zach Charbonnet started the first game, and in 2020 when Blake Corum and Roman Wilson got involved early and often.
Note that those are a lot of skill position players, particularly running backs. Well, as 247Sports put together a list of true freshman All-America candidates, the first nod went to a formidable player in the Wolverines backfield.
Former Michigan recruiting staff Cooper Petagna, who is now with 247Sports, foresees former five-star Donovan Edwards as an immediate candidate to break out in year one.
He explains:
The former Michigan High School Gatorade Player of the Year joins an experienced Wolverine backfield with returning starter Hassan Haskins and second-year back Blake Corum. Donovan Edwards will have the chance to make his presence known early as he hopes to improve a rushing offense that ranked 95th in the country last season with 131.5 yards per game.
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But he’s not the only one. This time, it’s a player who is not at a skill position.
The Wolverines are thin at the linebacker position this year after a bevy of transfers this offseason. So the maize and blue could be counting on help from first-year linebacker Junior Colson, a former four-star from Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood.
Like Edwards, Colson made the list of potential All-America candidates.
Colson arrived in Ann Arbor in January as an early enrollee for the Wolverines and has impressed quickly, earning a spot in the two-deep by the end of the spring ball. The Nashville area native possesses all the tools to make immediate contributions to the Wolverines this fall, both at the weak side linebacker position and on multiple special teams units. If you’re a Michigan fan and haven’t acquainted yourself with Colson, get used to hearing his name.
To add insult to injury, former Michigan signee Xavier Worthy also made the cut, as the enigmatic wide receiver is expected to do big things at Texas.
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