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Father's dying wish put him in an orphanage. Now he's Michigan football's best linebacker recruit

Michigan football opens the 2020 season Sept. 5 on the road against Washington, and finishes Nov. 28 on the road against Ohio State. Wochit

It wasn’t a coincidence that Junior Colson chose May 24 to announce his commitment to Michigan football.

It's the date he began a new life.

On May 24, 2012, Colson flew to America and became a permanent citizen, joining his adopted family after spending years in an orphanage.

“That day meant a lot to me,” Colson, a 17-year-old linebacker from Brentwood, Tennessee, near Nashville, told the Free Press. “Ever since I was a freshman, I wanted to commit on that day because it represented a new start, a new journey.