Michigan football fans were holding out hope that the Wolverines would be able to pull off a surprise with four-star linebacker Nick Abrams.
However, on Wednesday, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker ranked No. 249 overall in the 2026 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, committed to the Georgia Bulldogs as expected.
Abrams is out of Maryland. The Wolverines have had success in that area before. U-M hosted him for an official visit, along with UGA, Oregon, and Alabama.
If this was just down to NIL, Michigan might have won out. But Georgia is still difficult to beat. Now, U-M needs to turn its attention to other targets. Three-star Markel Dabney is the only commitment at the position right now, but there are some other blue-chip targets still on the board.
What's next for Michigan football with linebacker recruiting
Another name that's on the radar for Michigan football at linebacker in the 2026 class is four-star Duyon Forkpa out of the IMG Academy in Florida.
Forkpa is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. He has similar size to Abrams. He's also ranked in a similar fashion. The four-star who has a crsytal ball projection to Florida is ranked 244th overall.
Abrams is ranked 249th overall. 247 Sports and Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider have their crystal ball predictions on Florida. Yet, that was before Forkpa decided to delay his commitment. It was supposed to be last weekend.
Michigan hosted him for an official visit in June. Getting him to come back to Ann Arbor for a game would be a positive. He's played tight end, defensive end, and linebacker. He's a good enough athlete to play inside and is a sideline-to-sideline tackler.
I'd expect Michigan to focus more on Forkpa. Four-star Kenneth Goodwin is another potential target, but either way, the Wolverines aren't finished with their pursuit of another 2026 linebacker.