Donald Tabron II emerges as elite Michigan QB prospect motivated by grandmother's memory

Donald Tabron II starts every game the same way. The elite class of 2028 quarterback drops to a knee after the national anthem and takes a moment to have a conversation with his late grandmother Velma. 

Her memory motivates and drives him, while also comforting the talented passer in the game’s most difficult moments. The Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech star plays with her at the front of his mind at all times. Tabron led his high school squad to a state championship as a freshman and helped engineer a pair of second half comebacks decided by three or fewer points to start his sophomore campaign. 

Before both of those matchups, he spent some time talking to his grandmother. She passed away in 2023 but, in the years since then, Tabron continues to feel her love and support. 

“I think it kind of started in Little League,” Tabron told The Wolverine. “She always loved my sports, and I always just try to keep her in mind while I’m playing.”

Rivals ranked Tabron as the No. 3 sophomore quarterback in the country earlier this summer. He’s the nation’s No. 29 overall prospect. The Cass Tech signal-caller is one of the Midwest’s elite recruits, but his ascent to the national spotlight followed a somewhat unusual path. 

He played safety, wide receiver and running back for most of his time in youth football. The Top 100 recruit suited up for his full season at 12 years old, and his grandmother supported him throughout that journey. 

Velma moved in with the family in 2019 and lived with them for four years after a stroke. Tabron used to come home from school and watch TV with her. Some of his favorite memories with her were watching UNC basketball games. Velma was a big Tar Heel hoops fan.

She battled dementia and passed away when Tabron was 13 years old. Donald Tabron Sr. watched his son grow over the next few years on and off the field. 

“No one could have known this ahead of time— it also gave him his ‘why,’” Tabron Sr. said. 

‘It’s all for her’

Tabron Sr. said most people just assume his son has always been a great quarterback prospect. In reality, he’s still pretty new to the position. The 6-3, 175-pound sophomore asked his father for quarterback lessons around 10. 

His potential started to pop from those initial training sessions. Tabron II devoted his time to the position at that point and played his first game under center at 11 before an injury knocked him out for most of the season. During his first full year at quarterback, his little league team fell just short in a championship game at Ford Field. 

Tabron II spent the next year playing for his middle school team and, around the same time, his grandmother passed away. His father saw something shift in the young signal-caller from that point on. 

“I see this change in acumen, this change in performance, and all of a sudden this dogged tenacity that just comes out of nowhere,” Tabron Sr. said. “He and I talked about it, and I’m like, ‘Hey, man, I’m noticing this,’ and he’s like, ‘I’m dedicating my football play at quarterback to my grandmother.’

“He’s like ‘It’s all for her.’”

Velma passed away in February 2023, and Tabron proceeded to lead his seven-on-seven team to 16 victories in its next 18 games. He took his youth team to the national championship game that fall. 

Tabron II is also a standout high jumper and won a middle school championship in the event. His winning jump led to his team winning the meet and, as everyone celebrated around him, he hugged his father and cried because his grandmother wasn’t there to see that milestone.

“That kind of let me know the gravity of how badly he wanted to be successful, to honor her legacy,” Tabron Sr. said. 

‘Talk to your grandma about it’

When he began his high school career, Dakota Guerrant and Darryl Flemister were considered two of the next major quarterback recruits in the area. Tabron II was just starting to emerge as a big time prospect. 

He joined Cass Tech’s program as a freshman ready to compete. Michigan had already offered the 2028 recruit at this point before he took a varsity snap. After an injury kept him out of a couple games early in the year, he returned to the field having to compete with, not only the team’s other quarterbacks, but also electric athlete CJ Sadler, the state’s No. 1 2026 prospect who moved under center that year. 

The underclassman signal-caller was navigating his first year of high school football and, when he talked to his dad about it, his father encouraged him to lean on the person who helped get him to this point. 

“Man, talk to your grandma about it,” Tabron Sr. told his son. 

He took over the quarterback job and ended up leading Cass Tech to a state title, this time leaving Ford Field victorious to cap off at 10-game winning streak. Tabron II has now won 12-consecutive games at quarterback in Michigan’s most competitive division. 

During that run to the championship, a hit briefly knocked him out of the game during a showdown with Macomb (Mich.) Dakota High in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. A couple of sacks before halftime left him with a golfball-sized knot on his knee. When one of Cass Tech assistant coaches told him he couldn’t return to the game at first to protect the chance of any further injury, the freshman slammed his helmet on the ground. 

“Put me in the ******* game coach,” Tabron Sr. recalled his son exclaiming. 

 “Which is completely out of character for Don, but I understand when that switch flips.”

Tabron Sr. played linebacker at the college level, and he could see the competitive fire within his son. The quarterback returned to the contest after talking things over with his head coach. Tabron II completed a series of clutch passes, and Cass Tech moved on to the semifinals. 

“After that game, the staff, the kids, everybody in the stadium realized who this kid was because most still didn’t know yet,” Tabron Sr. said. 

Nearly a year later, Tabron II is one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects. He completed his final 7 passes of his season opener, including a pair of 35-plus yard touchdowns to lead a thrilling 21-point comeback over Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic. Cass Tech also hit a short field goal in overtime last week to defeat Granville (Mich.) High. 

Elite Michigan QB target Donald Tabron II with a 57-yard rocket to UNC commit CJ Sadler. pic.twitter.com/ntHkh3UC7N

— Ethan McDowell (@ethanmmcdowell) August 29, 2025

Tabron has a shirt with an old Christmas card photo of himself, his brother and his grandmother on the front of it. After winning his first game as a sophomore, he revealed to his dad that he wore the shirt under his pads during the thrilling victory. 

“I’ve got to wear this,” Tabron II said when he saw the shirt in his room. 

And whenever his team lines up in victory formation this season, or if the game reaches a pivotal moment, he’ll drop to a knee again and find a moment to separate himself from the chaos and ask his grandmother for strength. 

“She meant a lot to me,” Tabron II said. “She meant a lot to me sports-wise and in life. I took care of her as she got older with dementia, so it’s just being able to remember her and how much she did for me and how much I did for her.”