Michigan's Junior Colson Talks National Championship Matchup With Washington

The Michigan defense knows that Washington will present a great challenge offensively, and the Wolverines are looking forward to it.

Michigan linebacker Junior Colson has battled through injuries for most of the season, but that hasn't prevented him from putting together another impressive season. In fact, Colson leads the Michigan defense with 89 tackles - and has done most of that with one hand.

Meeting with the media on Wednesday, Colson answered a variety of questions surrounding the upcoming national championship matchup with Washington.

Photo: Christopher Breiler

Q. What's one thing that stands out when you watch tape, and what goes into your preparation?

JUNIOR COLSON: We work every week on our angles, just the small little details. Just angles, tackling to the ball, using your leverage, using your teammates. And that's been a great help to us, especially increasing our tackling this year. We've missed very minimal amount of tackles this year, which has been a huge success for our coaching staff and the way they prepare us for the games.

Q. Is that angles to the ball carrier?

JUNIOR COLSON: Yes, sir, it's the angles, the mindset, all the different things. We have different things that we practice each week, just angles, making sure if you're second man in, go after the ball; first man in, you've got to secure the guy down.

Q. (On Washington dominating in the Sugar Bowl).

JUNIOR COLSON: Watching that game, it was a great quarterback making great plays, having great receivers, and having a good base to the running game added on to there. Yeah, watching them dominate that game in the passing game, he was able to make all the throws on the field. All the certain things that as a quarterback you've got to be great at.

Q. What do you think the defense did wrong that they didn't stop him?

JUNIOR COLSON: Just too many guys on the ground. Too many guys -- you can't play football being on the ground. That was the biggest thing. Making sure once we go out there, we can't fall flat on our face.

Q. This team has conquered a lot of adversity this season. How would you describe the fight in this team?

JUNIOR COLSON: It's been amazing. Like we've been through everything imaginable that a team can go through. You can tell the way like all of us have come together.

I guess by going through all those things, it brought us closer, made us more of a team together, more compact together, more trusting of a brotherhood. I hate that we went through it, but I think it was great that we went through it being able to allow us to be here in this moment. Nothing can affect us. It's always us against everybody.

Q. What would winning a national title mean to you?

JUNIOR COLSON: Everything. Winning a national title is everybody's lifelong dream. Especially being a kid from Haiti, to be on that big stage would be surreal. It would be a great moment for me and my family and everybody around me.

Q. Where do you think you've made the biggest improvements this year?

JUNIOR COLSON: I would say my coverage. My coverages have been very high lately. I think I've made huge improvements from last year, understanding defense, understanding middle open, middle close, field defense. It's been great for me, great for our defense.

Q. This is the first championship game in nine years without a team from the south. What do you think about that?

JUNIOR COLSON: I think it's great. It's allowing more teams now to start playing at that level, so now teams are starting to catch up. I think it'll be great. It's making football more competitive in a way. Because most times it's always just teams from the south, Clemson, Alabama, all those guys. Now being able to add the Big Ten, the Pac-12, all those great teams who maybe didn't get as much love and now they're being put in the spotlight, it's awesome. It's awesome to see that.

Q. Is this your last game?

JUNIOR COLSON: I don't know. I'm enjoying this moment. I'm enjoying this time. This is going to be one of the biggest games of my life, so there's nothing else in my mind other than that, just being able to go out there and play my best.

Q. (On playing Texas).

JUNIOR COLSON: Yeah, we do. We play Texas week two. We play Washington, too. We play Washington twice, I believe. It's awesome being able to have all those guys on the schedule. I know we've got quite a bit of teams on the schedule next year.

Q. (On the Ohio State game.)

JUNIOR COLSON: The Ohio State game is like a staple. It's always been a tradition, always been one of those. But I think the Texas game is going to be a great rivalry, something that can be created there from two powerhouses going at it. I think it'll be more fun than just playing somebody like ECU.

Q. What do you think will be the main thing you need to do to beat Washington?

JUNIOR COLSON: The main thing we'll need to do is just great coverage skills. So the back seven and the front seven has got to work together when we go out there, allowing -- the guys got to cover and align the front to be able to do their job.

Q. Who is your roommate on the road and who are your roommates back home?

JUNIOR COLSON: My roommate on the rode is Michael Barrett. He's one of my best friends. He's been a brother to me ever since I got here. It's been amazing being able to create that bond with him. We kind of do everything together. We hang out outside of football together.

My roommate back home is Donovan Edwards. He's my best fried, man. He's a dog. He's a dog. We love Chick-Fil-a. We used to go to Chick-Fil-a a good four, five times a week. Man, we're addicted. We come in quite a bit. Ever since then we're like, I want to get a Chick-Fil-a deal. I've been trying to get with them. Someone has got to help me with that. I'm your loyalest customer. I'm your biggest fan.

Q. (Indiscernible).

JUNIOR COLSON: Silence. Silence. I love silence. A lot of times -- I always wear these headphones. 90 percent of the time they're not even playing music. I just like having them on, being with your own thoughts, being able to talk to God, having those moments without all the extra noise. Once you step on that field, it's a lot of noise. Outside of football, it's a lot of noise.

Being able to put these on, have some moments of silence, moments of peace before I go out there and face the game. I want to just be able to go out there and play the game.

Q. You and Michael are the veterans of the linebackers, but you have Ernest come in this year. What's he brought to the rotation?

JUNIOR COLSON: Man, it's been awesome. Having Ernest with us has been tremendous. He's a great kid. He knows football. He can play football at a tremendous level. Having him with us has been phenomenal. It's been allowing us breathers and breaks. Last year it was just me and Mike always out there and all that.

Now having a player that can play at such a high caliber, being able to come in, fill in, knowing he'll be able to play at the same level we're playing at, it's been amazing. It's given us peace of mind, especially when we're out there.

Q. Have you guys seen a team like Washington offensively? What sticks out about what they do?

JUNIOR COLSON: They've got a great passing game, but I don't want to say it's very complex. It's just the quarterback is very good at making his throws, very good at putting the ball on the money. We've got to stay focused, got to stay locked in. Our mindset is all 11 of us got to play as one.

Q. It's the 10th year of the College Football Playoff. Do you remember watching (indiscernible) as a teenager? Anything about that number?

JUNIOR COLSON: Being honest with you, did not watch football growing up. I did not watch. I read a lot of books. I read a lot of books. Did not watch football growing up. I didn't even watch Michigan growing up. I didn't start watching football -- to be honest with you, I still don't. All I do is just -- I'll watch a lot of film.

But other than that, don't really watch football games.

Q. What have you learned during your time at Michigan?

JUNIOR COLSON: It's been amazing. I've had such great role models, especially in Ann Arbor. All I want to do is emulate those guys like Josh Ross, (indiscernible), Mike Barrett. My time in Ann Arbor, it's not done yet, but it's been amazing. It's been a lot of fun. I just want to leave behind a great legacy.

How you see if you left a great legacy is how the linebackers behind you do once your time is done. I'm hoping to see them flourish and thrive.

Q. Do you speak some French?

JUNIOR COLSON: So it's Creole. So it's kind of like dirty French. I haven't spoken it in a quite long time. I'm from Haiti so we spoke like a dirty French in a way. You're French, huh?

Q. Would you have a word for our French viewers?

JUNIOR COLSON: I know some words, but I can't say them because you don't know if they fit together and flow together in a way.

Q. You guys have the turnover buffs on defense. How much fun is it to have something like that? Does that bring the defense together?

JUNIOR COLSON: It does. It's awesome to have that type of thing. It's been fun, it made the defense fun just having that type of thing, having turnover buffs, having fun out there. At the end of the day, football is supposed to be a game for fun. Having that turnover buff has been a lot of fun. A lot of guys love putting in on. I hope I'm putting it on soon in this game.

Q. Do you remember how that started?

JUNIOR COLSON: I really don't. I just remember it came out one game and it's kind of been there ever since. I know Will was the main man that got the idea rolling and get it going, so it's fun.

Q. Do these days wear on you?

JUNIOR COLSON: No, because you're doing what you love. At the end of the day, if you're doing what you love, it's not a job. It doesn't wear on you. I could come out here every day and do what I love. It's a blessing. I'm always blessed. It's exciting. I'm happy.

Q. What is it like in the locker room? Is it just like any other day or do you start to feel the magnitude of what's coming?

JUNIOR COLSON: Every game is the most important game because it's the next one, so that's kind of our mentality right now. It's a very important game, but we can't let -- we can't get too high, we can't get too low. We've got to stay levelheaded because that's what got us here. So that's our mentality.

Q. What impresses you about (indiscernible)?

JUNIOR COLSON: Man, I'm more scared of his arm than his legs right now. He's got a great arm. He can make all the throws in the world. Just got to be able to go out there, have some great drives, have all 11 of us play as one, be able to control him.

Q. How great is the challenge of facing Penix?

JUNIOR COLSON: It's a great challenge. They're a great team. They were able to make it all the way to the National Championship game. It's going to be a lot of fun. But I trust our defense, I trust our team to be able to go out there and handle business.

Q. Michigan is a school with great tradition. What would be the importance of the legacy of a championship?

JUNIOR COLSON: It would mean everything. It would be amazing. You always remember those champions. It would create a legacy for ourselves, create a legacy for our team. I know a lot of players are excited about it. The team is excited. The fan base, the older guys that's been through here, they're all rooting for us. We're all ready to go out there and play to our best.

Q. What's the vibe in the locker room around the team with Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines versus without Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines?

JUNIOR COLSON: I think we've been able to keep it around the same, with Jim Harbaugh and without him. We have such great leaders that's allowed us to stay focused and locked in on the moment. And the way he prepares us, doesn't matter if he's out there or not. We've got such great leaders, such great people and such great unity within our team.

He's always watching us. We always know he's right there even though he might not be right there on the field with us. We know the level of play he expects from us. So we've just got to go out there and make him proud.

Q. We know you like to refer to yourself as a world-renowned scholar.

JUNIOR COLSON: I am a world-renowned scholar.

Q. What is your favorite class you've taken at the University of Michigan?

JUNIOR COLSON: Favorite class? Might have to be a writing class. I took a poetry class. I'm quite a poet so I like to have fun with it. Do you want me to read you one? We don't have enough time for that, but next time maybe. Next time.

Q. How much pride does the defense take in being the top-rated defense in the country?

JUNIOR COLSON: That's something we've talked about, being top defense in the country. Every week we've got to go out there and prove that we're still the top defense. I think we've done that week after week. We've talked about it since the beginning before the season even started, like we could be the best defense in the country. We've be able to go out there and do that and we're just going to continue to keep thriving out there. We've got one more game to show out there and show we're the best defense in the country.

Q. How did you get to Michigan? Why not Vanderbilt or Tennessee? You were locked in on your recruiting and never wavered down the stretch.

JUNIOR COLSON: No, Michigan has been great. Coach Harbaugh being able to recruit me -- me and him got on the phone quite a bit as a recruit, and he told me what I could do here. He showed me the way. Now look at us, we're right here.

But it's been -- never wavering, all that. My parents always told me once you commit, once you put your name down, never go back on it. And that's something I hold true. So if I put my last name on it, I'm not going back from it.

Q. Coach Minter's dad has come in to coach the linebackers. What's been the difference?

JUNIOR COLSON: They've kept it the same. They've kept it very similar to the past, the way we play. Losing your coach in the middle of the season was hard, just not having him, especially the bond I created with Coach Partridge. It was a great brotherhood I created with him, a great bond.

But having Coach Minter step in has been phenomenal. He has a lot of football under his belt. He's coached the Eagles, coached a lot of places. He knows what he's talking about. We all trust him with the utmost respect.

Q. Who's the one teammate you wouldn't want to date your sister and why?

JUNIOR COLSON: Dang. You throw your teammate under the bus at that point. Who all have they said so far? Who wouldn't I want to date my sister?

Q. Who would you want to date your sister?

JUNIOR COLSON: Got to choose somebody to date my sister. Who would be -- got to pick somebody small, got to pick somebody who's very -- who's not even a bully, just they can do no wrong. They can do no wrong. It's like who can I let date my sister.

It's definitely not -- I don't think I want anyone dating my sister, especially the people I hang out with a lot. It's like, uh-uh.

Q. We'll leave it at that.

JUNIOR COLSON: Who would I let date my sister? D. Moore.

Micah. Would not let Micah date my sister. Would not let him.

Q. (Inaudible.)

JUNIOR COLSON: My headphones, no music half the time. It's just the world. I like to have them. Especially if I want peace and quiet, I put them on, everybody thinks I'm listening to music.

Q. Michael Penix is 24; he's in his sixth year of college. How old are you?

JUNIOR COLSON: I just turned 21.

Q. We're seeing college players now having six, seven years of eligibility. They're getting older for a variety of reasons. Is that an unfair advantage playing against a 19- or 20-year old?

JUNIOR COLSON: You've got a lot of football under you at that point, but I don't know. Sometimes I feel like it is, but sometimes it's like, maybe they weren't as good early on, now they're able to shine.

I guess you could say so, being able -- some people are already in their third year of the pros at this point, so that's a big difference.

Q. He's two years older than C.J. Stroud.

JUNIOR COLSON: Yeah, that's a little bit different. But I play with one right here, too.