Michigan football's latest 2026 commits: Lee, Robinson lead CBS Sports ratings

USA Today

19 hours ago

The Wolverines have been on a recruiting heater in the past week-plus, and they're showing no signs of slowing down. Friday saw Michigan football add two commitments, with one being Honolulu (Hawaii) Kamehameha four-star offensive tackle Malakai Lee, one of the maize and blue's top overall offensive targets in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
But, as CBS Sports notes, not all commitments are created equal. And the network has created a new way to evaluate pledges to determine just how impactful their additions might be.
With what CBS Sports is calling a 'commitment impact score,' the network weighs the roster boost, how much momentum the commitment creates, and how much the recruit fits into a team's culture. Then, they're scored from 1-10, with a 9-10 being a 'game-changer,' a 7-8 being a 'strong add,' a 5-6 being 'solid depth,' and 1-4 being 'low impact.'
Starting with the newest pledge, the aforementioned Lee, the Wolverines got what CBS Sports calls a strong add.
4-star OT Malakai Lee commits to Michigan
Our eval: Strong add (8/10)
Michigan's offensive line had been the gold standard during the Jim Harbaugh era and the program has recruited well enough for that to continue. The recruiting bubble seems to have popped for Michigan as several have either joined or will soon join the Wolverine's 2026 recruiting class. His potential is insane as he has good size and a verified 85 inch wingspan.
But Lee committed about 10-15 minutes after another was added to the class, with Richmond (Va.) Huguenot three-star linebacker Markel Dabney flipping from SMU to Michigan football just before the announcement in Hawaii.
Of course, Dabney isn't quite as highly regarded as Lee, with CBS Sports noting him as 'modest,' but it's still a good addition from the network's perspective.
3-star LB Markel Dabney flips from SMU to Michigan
Our eval: Solid Depth (5/10)
Markel Dabney is a modest addition, but he did flip from SMU. His official visit list is not littered with the nation's top programs, but Michigan has done well identifying and developing 3-star recruits over the years like Kris Jenkins, Mike Sainristil, DJ Turner, Mike Morris and others. The timing is good because the Virginia native is a part of a big recruiting run for the Wolverines.
As CBS Sports notes, just because talent evaluators aren't all in line calling Dabney a home run doesn't mean that Michigan football won't develop him in a way that is beyond impactful. And certainly, the Wolverines are excited about Dabney's potential in Wink Martindale's system.
The new scoring table also covers some other recent Michigan commitments. Offensive lineman Marky Walbridge got a score of five, solid depth, while wide receiver Zion Robinson got a nine -- 'game changer.'
The Michigan wide receiver room received a significant talent upgrade with the addition of Robinson, the sixth-ranked wide receiver and No. 71 overall prospect in the 2026 class who chose the Wolverines over the likes of Miami, Nebraska and Stanford.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder is an explosive athlete who posted multiple sub-11-second 100-meter times as a sophomore in 2024 - that same year, he won the Texas 6A state title in the high jump (6-8). This marks the second straight cycle that the Wolverines have gone into the Lone Star State to land an elite wideout (Katy Jordan's Andrew Marsh was the No. 82 overall prospect and No. 13 wide receiver in 2025). We expect Robinson and Marsh to be great targets for Bryce Underwood in the future.
Four-star defensive tackle Titan Davis also was evaluated and got a score of eight, strong add.