LB Chase Taylor’s path to Michigan Football, outlook for 2026

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Michigan lost its top four linebackers from last season and now finds itself needing plenty of production this season from relatively unproven and inexperienced players. A candidate to take on a bigger role is sophomore Chase Taylor. Here’s a look at what Taylor’s path has been to get him to this potential breakout season and what to expect from him.

The story so far

Michigan’s 2025 recruiting class was one of the Big Ten’s best, featuring five-stars like Andrew Babalola and Bryce Underwood, which made Chase Taylor’s recruitment fly under the radar a bit. A three-star recruit by the 247Sports composite, Taylor was the No. 702 overall player in the country. A native of Stockbridge, Georgia, he played his prep ball at Stockbridge High School.

Taylor committed to Michigan in June 2024 over schools like USC, South Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

Taylor was one of several players to enroll early, but he was ultimately going to face an uphill battle for playing time with Ernest Hausmann, Jaishawn Barham, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan all ahead of him. The 2025 season wasn’t all that eventful for him, as he appeared in 10 games, mostly on special teams, but he did get some run at linebacker as well. In total, he made 10 total tackles and recovered an onside kick.

With all the attrition in front of him on the depth chart, Taylor is near the top of the depth chart and has a chance for a much bigger role going forward.

Outlook for 2026

Michigan now has a hodgepodge of options at linebacker. The only player that seems locked into a starting role is Troy Bowles, who was fifth in line for snaps at the position last season. The Wolverines brought in a few transfers this season, with the most experienced being Nathaniel Staehling, a senior and former starter at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.

While that might not exactly be encouraging, it opens the door for some younger, high-potential players to get on the field sooner than we might have expected. Taylor and fellow sophomore Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng fit the bill.

Of the two sophomores, Taylor is the one who’s more ready physically at 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds. He could be a backup to start the season, but he also could start right away. That’s how much uncertainty there is at the position heading into the season.

While the development from a fundamentals and physicality standpoint was likely needed last season, Taylor will have no choice but to put it on display in 2026 in a pretty thin linebacker rotation. The belief, though, is he’s up to the challenge and ready to make an impact in 2026 and beyond.

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