Top 3 landing spots for 2026 class recruit Markel Dabney ft. Virginia Tech

By Viraj Mali

Modified Aug 29, 2024 17:22 GMT

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A three-star linebacker from the class of 2026, Markel Dabney is one of the most keenly recruited high school athletes in the country. He is currently sitting on more than 20 offers from some of the best college programs in the country and is set to receive more offers in the future.

Colleges such as Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Miami, Indiana, Maryland, SMU among others have already made offers to him. However, Dabney has trimmed his list down to 15 colleges and will most likely choose from them in the future.

He has included schools such as Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Duke in his list. Although there is no clear favorite at the moment to land the three-star athlete, some teams have started to make headways in Dabney's recruitment.

The Virginia native is ranked No. 598 nationally and is the 46th-best linebacker from the class of 2026, as per On3 Industry Rankings. He is also the 14th-best overall prospect from the state of Virginia.

Let's take a look at the top three teams in contention to land Markel Dabney from the class of 2026.

Top 3 landing spots for Markel Dabney

#3 Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish extended an offer to the three-star linebacker from Huguenot High School in Richmond, Virginia, on St. Patrick's Day this year. He attended the Fighting Irish's camp last summer and believed that he did everything in his power to grab an offer from the Marcus Freeman-led team.

"I felt good," Dabney told Irish Sports Daily after receiving the offer. "When I camped last year, I did really good, so when he called me, I was just so surprised and very blessed that he threw the offer."

Notre Dame's class of 2026 is currently ranked no.21 in the country, as per 247Sports. They have landed two commitments already and are poised to add more to their roster. The Fighting Irish have the third-best odds of landing the three-star athlete, as per On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

#2 South Carolina

South Carolina is one of the favorites to land the Virginia-based three-star recruit, as per On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. The Gamecocks have a 22.4% chance of acquiring the linebacker, according to the model.

The Gamecocks' class of 2026 is ranked no.13 in the country, as per 247Sports. They have landed three commitments so far and have extended offers to 144 top athletes from the class.

Dabney has a chance of becoming South Carolina's second linebacker commit from his class. The Shane Beamer-led side acquired the four-star linebacker from Georgia, Rodney Colton Jr., on April 24 this year.

#1 Virginia Tech

Markel Dabney's home state school, Virginia Tech, is the leading contender to land the linebacker, as per On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. The Hokies have a 25.6% chance of signing the three-star athlete.

Dabney received an offer from Virginia Tech on May 14 last year. The Hokies have already hosted the Virginia-based recruit for a couple of visits and he had nothing but praise for the team's coaching staff.

"It was great. The coaches showed me love like they always do when I come to Blacksburg and the atmosphere was amazing. I had a really good time," Markel Dabney said, as per 247Sports.

Virginia Tech's class of 2026 is currently ranked no.46 in the country, as per 247Sports. The Hokies have already landed one commitment from four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone.