The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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44 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY ANTHONY BROOME Five-star running back Savion Hiter was U-M's headlining signee out of the commonwealth of Virginia this cycle, but one that might be flying under the ra- dar is three-star January enrollee Markel Dabney, a standout from Huguenot High, who could have an opportunity to outplay his ranking. Dabney flipped his commitment from SMU to Michigan on June 27, 2025, a little over a month after pledging to the Mustangs on May 13. Former head coach Sherrone Moore and former position coach Brian Jean-Mary led the way in his recruitment, but now he gets a chance to carve out his name in the storied history of the program under the Kyle Whitting- ham regime. "Not everybody can say they have the opportunity to play for the Michi- gan Wolverines," Dabney said in 2025. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The only people I know from Richmond who have gone to Michigan are [2025 signee] Shamari Earls and [former wide receiver] David Terrell, and he's a Hu- guenot alum." The No. 789 overall player and No. 68 linebacker in the Rivals Industry Rank- ing was the heartbeat of his high school team, playing both sides of the ball and recording 151 total tackles, 25 for loss, 14 turnovers forced and 7 passes defended during his senior season, which earned him Virginia High School Defensive Player of the Year honors from Rivals. "He means everything to the pro- gram," Huguenot head coach Charles Scott said. "He's the ultimate team- mate. He's the ultimate leader. … He's definitely a leader on and off the field. He gets the guys together outside of school, and they do non-football-related things. He's just one of those guys." More than anything else, Dabney brings a selfless mindset to the football field and has been a rising tide for those around him. "He can play every position," Scott said. "He sacrifices for the team. He does everything he can to help us win. … He has versatility. He can play in and out of the box. He knows the entire defense. He makes sure everyone gets lined up. He's almost like the quarterback of the defense. "He can play defensive end, middle linebacker, strong safety, and he could even play corner if he wanted to. At the end of the day, he allows us to be very versatile in our scheme. He's what you call a Swiss army knife." The leadership qualities, on-field awareness and football IQ are traits that should help him find a role under new position coach Alex Whittingham and defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who pri- oritizes schematic and personnel versa- tility on the field. ❑ Versatile Markel Dabney Is 'The Ultimate Teammate' Dabney played both sides of the ball and recorded 151 total tackles, 25 for loss, 14 turnovers forced and 7 passes defended during his senior season, which earned him Virginia High School Defensive Player of the Year honors from Rivals. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND MARKEL DABNEY LINEBACKER 6-1 • 225 HUGUENOT HIGH CHESTERFIELD, VA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE Industry ✪✪✪ 789 68 21 ✪✪✪ — 70 19 ✪✪✪ — 109 37 ✪✪✪ — 10 11 STATISTICS Year Tackles TFL FF INT 2025 68 9 — 1 2024 74 4 4 2 HONORS • Rivals 2025 Virginia High School Defensive Player of the Year. • Earned PrepStar All-Atlantic Region honors as a senior. • Named a first-team All-Metro selection at line- backer by the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2024 and 2025. • First-team all-region as a junior in 2024. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan June 27, 2025. • Picked U-M over notable offers from Virginia Tech, Pitt, SMU and South Carolina. DID YOU KNOW? • A two-way contributor who played as a de- fensive end, linebacker and defensive back; also played running back and wide receiver on offense. • For his career, totaled 151 tackles, including 25 for loss, with 14 turnovers forced and 7 pass break- ups; also amassed over 2,300 all-purpose yards on offense with 33 touchdowns. • Had 2 interceptions as a junior and returned both for touchdowns. • Son of Mike Dabney and Helena Tucker. • Born Aug. 28, 2007. THEY SAID IT The Wolverine's EJ Holland: "Dabney is the heart and soul of the vaunted Huguenot defense, playing both a traditional linebacker role and nickel. He is a natural leader, a team captain and helps his teammates make pre-snap adjustments. I've had Dabney graded as a four-star — higher than all the services — for the majority of the cycle and believe he's the best linebacker in Michigan's class." 2026 PROJECTION Dabney is more of an athlete than a true line- backer at this point in his development, but that's completely fine. He plays with tremendous speed, can run sideline-to-sideline and is very comfortable in coverage. All of those traits should allow him to eventually excel in Michigan's scheme. He will likely redshirt next fall.