Where Michigan Football goes at LB after Nick Abrams’ pledge to Georgia

Brian Jean-Mary and the Michigan Wolverines just missed out on one of their top targets at the linebacker position in the 2026 class, as four-star Nick Abrams II announced his pledge to the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday.

Michigan has just one linebacker committed at the moment in three-star Markel Dabney, who flipped from SMU to the Wolverines last month.

With the Wolverines looking to take at least one more linebacker, if not two, here is where Michigan goes from here.

Anthony Davis Jr.: This recruitment has gone oddly quiet lately. The Loganville, Georgia native took an official visit to Michigan the weekend of June 13, and he is also highly intrigued by Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas and Auburn. It seems apparent he wants to stay down south, but if he decides to leave SEC territory, he will likely be playing his college ball in Ann Arbor.

Duyon Forkpa Jr.: Originally scheduled to make a commitment last weekend, the IMG Academy product instead decided to delay his announcement, which is great news for Michigan. The four-star is down to Michigan, Florida and Florida State, and had he not delayed his decision, he very likely would have picked the Gators. The Wolverines still have work to do with the No. 240 overall player in the class, but they are set up nicely to make a serious run at him.

Kaden Catchings: Jean-Mary offered Catchings when he took an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor last month. A Liberty commit, Catchings is ranked No. 1,247 overall and hails from Flowood, Mississippi. If Michigan pushes hard enough, it’s easy to see Catchings in the class.

Shadarius Toodle: A former Auburn commit, Toodle took an official visit to Michigan the first weekend in June before ultimately flipping to Georgia. Admittedly, this is a super, super long shot. However, the NCAA vs. House settlement was not approved until the week after his official visit to Michigan, so Sean Magee and company weren’t able to discuss NIL with him. Could Michigan sneak back in this recruitment — much like with Shamari Earls last cycle — and steal away a recruit from Georgia? It remains to be seen, but I’m not completely counting it out until I’m told otherwise.

Realistic options are pretty slim at the moment, so this may be a position that gets taken care of later in the year. There is obviously plenty of time until the early signing period in December — which is exactly when Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng committed last year — so it isn’t the end of the world...right now.

But if the Wolverines don’t add a highly regarded prospect to the class, they are going to have to hit the portal hard this winter and/or get multiple high-level players at the position in the 2027 class.

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