Wolverine Digest

Michigan football targeting 2026 LB committed to rival school

Seth Berry|
Sep 6, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore on the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Sep 6, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore on the sidelines during the second half of a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan football currently has a top 10 recruiting class for the 2026 cycle, but is hoping to finish out strong before the early signing period comes in December. While the linebacker room is a current position group that has depth on the current roster, the 2026 class has only one true linebacker committed in Markel Dabney, who the Wolverines flipped from SMU in June.

Now, it seems like linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary is working on another potential flip and would like to add to the room as he recently extended an offer to three-star Braylon Hodge (Engelwood, CO.), who is currently committed to Michigan State and has been since early June.

Hodge is a 6-foot-3, 212-pound linebacker from Cherry Creek who holds other significant offers beyond the Spartans and Wolverines, including from Minnesota, Utah, Iowa and others. He took an official visit to MSU on May 30 before committing to Jonathan Smith's program a day later.

With the offer being fresh and Hodge not having any prior documented visits to Ann Arbor, Jean-Mary and the staff will have to work on building a strong relationship if they wish to pursue a flip in his recruitment. With that being said, an offer is certainly a step in the right direction, and it will be interesting to see whether Michigan can get him on campus for a gameday visit this fall.

Back in July, Hodge told Michigan State on SI that he would be back to East Lansing "a few times" for visits this season, including a planned trip for the Michigan-Michigan State game on Oct. 25 at MSU. With Hodge planning on getting to the Mitten State, Jean-Mary and the Wolverines could tap in to see what his schedule looks like when he happens to be swinging by to try to get him to Ann Arbor for the first time.

How this in-state recruiting battle between the Wolverines and Spartans plays out will be intriguing and could be one to keep an eye on as time wears on.

Barham
Michigan linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) tackles New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne (2) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Seth Berry
SETH BERRY

Seth began writing on Michigan athletics in 2015 and has remained in the U-M media space ever since, which includes stops at Maize N Brew and Rivals before coming onto Michigan On SI in June of 2025. Seth has covered various angles of Michigan football and basketball, including recruiting, overall team coverage and feature/analysis stories relating to the Wolverines. His passion for Michigan sports and desire to tell stories led him to the sports journalism world. He is a 2020 graduate of Western Michigan University and is the former sports editor of the Western Herald, WMU's student newspaper.

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