Gardner-Webb lands Texas quarterback Levi McAbee after spring visit

Gardner-Webb’s new staff did not just add a quarterback when Levi McAbee committed on April 12. It landed a starter with production, a strong academic profile and a clear fit for a program trying to build its first full class under Kris McCullough.

McAbee, a rising senior from Farmersville High School in Texas, pledged to the Runnin’ Bulldogs after a spring game and Junior Day weekend in Boiling Springs. At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he is not the kind of recruit that wins headlines with frame alone, but his résumé is built on output. Over two seasons as Farmersville’s starter, McAbee passed for more than 4,000 yards, including 1,771 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior in 2025, while also running for 241 yards and two scores.

That kind of dual-threat production matters for Gardner-Webb because McCullough is not recruiting for a one-year patch. He took over on Jan. 6 after building a winning track record at UT Permian Basin, where he had 37 victories in four seasons, two NCAA Division II playoff appearances and a 2024 Heritage Bowl berth. Gardner-Webb has already said McCullough added 41 players to the 2026 recruiting class, and McAbee now looks like one of the early pieces around which the next phase can be organized.

The timing matters, too. McAbee arrived as the coaching staff was still fresh in the job and before the 2027 class, which will be McCullough’s first full cycle in Boiling Springs, really takes shape. That makes this commitment less like a late flier and more like an indicator of what Gardner-Webb believes it can sell: an opportunity to play early, work in a system that values movement at quarterback and build something with a coach who has already won at a higher level than many FCS staffs can point to on the recruiting trail.

McAbee’s own background fits the pitch. He carries a 3.8 GPA and said he plans to pursue a degree in exercise science at Gardner-Webb. Farmersville recognized him and Amare Warren as co-Offensive Players of the Year at its Dec. 8 banquet, and McAbee was also named first-team all-district for a second straight season. The banquet report said he had surpassed 4,000 career passing yards in just his second year as the starter, underscoring how quickly he turned into the centerpiece of the Farmersville offense.

For Gardner-Webb, that combination of production, mobility and academic fit is the point. McAbee gives the Runnin’ Bulldogs a quarterback who already knows how to carry an offense, and McCullough a first building block for the kind of regional and cross-border recruiting footprint that can define a rebuild.