Michigan Recruiting Insider – Elite prospects headline 2026 linebacker board

On this week's edition of The Michigan Recruiting Insider Sam Webb, Steve Lorenz, and Brice Marich discussed 2026 linebacker recruiting on the heels of the Wolverines strong performance in the 2025 recruiting cycle. Emboldened by their flips of Bryce Underwood, Ty Haywood, Shamari Earls, and Nate Marshall from SEC heavyweights, and landing of Andrew Babalola, Michigan is aggressively pursuing some of the no. 1 and no. 2 linebackers on 2026, in Gainesville (Ga.) and USC commit Xavier Griffin and Loganville (Ga.) Tyler Atkinson. The crew also highlights other targets the Maize & Blue is hot on the trail of like Top247 Auburn commit Shadarius Toodle and Top247 Owings Mills (Md.) Nick Abrams. The conversation then turns to stock-on-the rise targets like Nokesville (Va.) Mathieu Kanu and Richmond (Va.) standout Markel Dabney. Longtime target Kenneth Goodwin out of Harbor City, Harbor City, California is also discussed.

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