EXCLUSIVE: In-Depth With MSU Prodigy Target Tabron's Debut Season
There are six important dates required to tell this story about 2028 quarterback Donald Tabron II of Detroit Cass Tech. The heir apparent to Michigan commit and No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class, Bryce Underwood, Tabron had lofty expectations before he took a high school snap.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound signal-caller has a great support system around him, starting with his parents, Donald Sr. and Tosha Tabron. He has a world-class quarterback coach in Donovan Dooley of Quarterback University. Dooley's clientele includes Underwood, Patriots backup Joe Milton III, Chris Paddock and 2027 phenom Trae Taylor, to name a few. Another trainer, Steve Wilson, takes a more unconventional approach to developing Tabron's mind as a signal caller.
Where it seemed to start was when Tabron was 11 years old, though the bulk of the snaps at the position came at 12 years old, Donald Sr. told me this summer. Before arriving at Cass Tech, Tabron rose to acclaim by finding success at the national level in big-time competitions and national championships at the pre-high school level.
And then...
Oct. 23, 2023
Tabron begins preparing for his freshman year of high school football. A serious conversation is had between him and his support collective. A strength and conditioning regimen was put in place.
"It becomes for real when you gotta make a decision what high school to go to," Dooley, the quarterback coach, said. "Where to go, what is that experience going to be like, is he going to get the opportunity. And then when you do get the opportunity, how's he going to perform? There's a lot of emotion and anxiety that goes into it."
In the Detroit area, there are plenty of options for a talented quarterback prospect. Detroit King is a formidable powerhouse. Belleville is right there; sure Underwood was starting, but the next three seasons would definitely belong to Tabron.
The choice was Cass Tech, led by head coach Marvin Rushing. A historically dominant program that hadn't won a state championship since 2016, the Technicians were well-connected, young, and talented. The culture of the program under Rushing was a big plus, too.
It was a program that would make Tabron earn it. He would have to compete for a starting job. The hype wouldn't win it. When you get to know the Tabrons, you understand that they wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
June 17, 2024
Tabron was offered by the Michigan State Spartans. He had already collected offers from Maryland, Kentucky, Penn State and Michigan. Spartans coach Jonathan Smith, who is not afraid to recruit young if the talent is as obvious as Tabron's, throws his hat into the four-year escrow that is the Tabron Sweepstakes.
"We spent about 20 minutes with him," Tabron had told me. "He said 'I'm gonna make a deal with you. I'll offer you if you keep doing what you're doing and working hard.' And I was like, that's easy enough. ... We talked about a lot of things. We talked about Aidan [Chiles]. Aidan as a freshman, playing nine games in college. And me going to my freshman year hopefully playing a lot my first year of high school. We talked about a little bit of recruiting in the state, the transition from Oregon State to Michigan State. So yeah, we had a great conversation."
Tabron will get an offer from Auburn before he starts the season.
A handful of college offers from powerhouse programs and interest from media outlets such as Sports Illustrated are sure to bring pressure and expectation. Tabron wasn't oblivious to it -- but he did seem fairly unburdened.
"I just need to put my head down and make sure when I play my first high school snaps, high school season, that I live up to the expectation," he said. " ... There's always a high expectation, there's always pressure that's going to be on me. ... So, I have my parents here to help me go through that pressure.
"It's about the small things. Having me just focus on myself and focus on my teammates to help me go into that, and don't worry about the outside pressure, the outside noise."
July 16, 2024
It was July hot. The D Zone hosted a 7-on-7 competition at University Liggett in Grosse Point Woods, just outside of Detroit. A "who's who" of the current Michigan high school football climate. Belleville is there, with Underwood and arguably the second-best player in the state, Elijah Dotson.
Wide receiver Dakota Guerrant is dominating for Division 4 Harper Woods. Orchard Lake St. Mary's bevy of Division I talent was lighting it up. Hard-charging Roseville was playing its typically intense style like it was October already.
I watched the competition with Donald Sr. All off the record conversations with him and the other Cass Tech dads. Tosha came from work and sat in her camp chair in the corner of the end zone.
Tabron was in the heat of a quarterback competition. To my understanding, he was already beginning to pull away. On that day, he was a bit rusty -- obviously. It was July. Still, the arm talent was evident. The fundamentals, too.
Tabron made some good connections with 2028 wide receiver Mylan Griggs, a name to watch who already has a Kentucky offer, and 2026 star Corey Sadler, and others. He looked better with each throw.
When it's over, Belleville is celebrating on the other end of the field like it isn't July. Underwood and Co. are doing their backflips. On this side of the field, Rushing has his players run gassers.
It is an interesting duality between two teams many expect will clash deep into the MHSAA Division I playoffs. Just one of the two teams would walk away with the state championship in November.
It wasn't the one doing backflips.
The highly anticipated video game "EA Sports College Football 25" had just been released, and Tabron said he was to go play with Michigan State's Aidan Chiles and Michigan's Alex Orji.
It only makes this reporter feel old -- and long for the days of "NCAA Football 14."
Sept. 14, 2024
Tabron had won the starting job and made his debut against Rockford, a historic powerhouse on the west coast of Michigan. Pre-season Top 10, too. He had his fair share of struggles during the contest, and Cass Tech lost, 30-23.
"You know, things don't go your way, he's got a chance to learn from guys that came before him," Dooley said. "That was part of the game. His [third] pass, I think, was a pick-six. Ultimately what we look for in Don is never getting too high, never getting too low. It comes with the territory, first downs, touchdowns, interceptions, fumbles -- they do it on Sundays and they are damn sure going to do it on Saturdays. So ultimately, what we told Don, is that you think 'next play', and everything else will take care of itself."
Weeks after, in September, I saw him in attendance for Michigan State's home contest against Prairie View A&M. He was on crutches and in a boot. Strained calf, out for three weeks.
Nov. 14, 2024
Tabron finished the regular season strong and led Cass Tech to a PSL championship win over rival Detroit King, 30-14, at Ford Field. It would not be his last victory in the home of the Detroit Lions this season. It was a big game. Tabron stepped up.
He started 6-of-7 for two touchdowns and 65 yards. He took care of the ball. The rest seemed like easy work.
Sadler, a four-star prospect, summed it up perfectly to the Detroit Free Press afterward.
"He's too sweet," Sadler said. "That guy's nice ... He makes great throws, great reads, stays composed. For this to be his first [city] championship, it looked like a vet out there."
However, it was Nov. 14 that Donald Sr. claims as the finest hour. In a playoff matchup against Macomb Dakota, Tabron and Co. found themselves behind late against a stacked Cougars squad. Multiple Division I commits. To make matters worse, Tabron exited the game at one point with an injury.
When needed most, Tabron connected with Colorado and Deion Sanders commit Alex Graham twice late for the win. The first was 35-yard strike that gave the Technicians a lead. Then the Cougars pulled ahead by one point.
Tabron found Graham with 19 seconds left to secure the win.
"Big time players make big time plays in big time games. That's all it was," Rushing told the Macomb Daily.
The performance signaled something bigger for Donald Sr., however.
"I think that the end of the game against Macomb Dakota as well as the game against [Detroit Catholic Central in the state semi-finals] really allowed him to step into his role appropriately," Donald Sr. said. "It set the stage for the state championship game, where we'd be able to dominate."
Nov. 30, 2024
Dominate they did. State runner-up Hudsonville was no match for the sheer talent and poise of a very young Cass Tech squad, falling 42-20 at Ford Field. Tabron was particularly excellent, throwing for 147 yards and three touchdowns.
The stage did not seem to affect him. But that is the trend with Tabron. His poise is unmatched for a quarterback of his age. The win bookended a much-anticipated debut season in story-book fashion. It crowned the next king of Michigan football. Fair or not, Tabron will be compared to Underwood and scrutinized as such. Coming in as a freshman for a powerhouse and winning a state title is no small feat.
For Donald Sr., the healthiest example of a football dad raising a prodigious talent (a polar opposite of the Marv Marinovich's of the world), the win meant validation.
"It was really a combination and culmination of everything of everything we've been working toward," he said. "So one of the biggest reliefs was being rewarded for all of the hard work we put in. We were going to the gym at 5:30 a.m. If we weren't in the gym at 5:30 working out, we were on Zoom calls with his quarterback coaches going through cerebral work, film work, coverages.
"It's a blessing to be able to get back everything from the game that you put into it. It doesn't necessarily happen all of the time. ... He was responsible enough to trust my thoughts, trust my words, and believe in the process. And thankfully it paid off at the highest level for us almost immediately, and that doesn't happen often."
Now, the bar has been set and he will be asked to repeat it all over again. Three more times. Those expectations are irresponsible, yes, but they will nonetheless be floated out by pundits and scouts and analysts for the rest of his high school career and beyond.
Tabron told me he was getting a brief break after the season and then jumping back into things by hitting the weight room hard and taking up track in the spring. He already has the right frame and will continue to grow. The added weight and the benefits of running track span from explosivity to running mechanics and body control, which is why you see so many football stars with track backgrounds. He also wants to improve his deep ball accuracy for next season.
The soon-to-be sophomore has all of the right tools, size, arm talent, and as Dooley calls it, "brain talent." He has the right support system around him. Tabron has exhibited the right fortitude you want to see in a quarterback. That team was his by season's end, so check the box for leadership.
Earlier this summer, the Tabrons told me they were lost in the work. Expect that to be the case going forward, regardless of the championship ring on his finger.
Buckle up. Donald Tabron II is here to stay.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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