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After wrapping up his official visits, five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson announced his top four schools: Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and Texas.
The Grayson High School (Georgia) star hasn’t locked in a commitment date yet, but Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong revealed that Atkinson might make his decision sometime in July.
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The 6-foot-2, 215-pound prospect is regarded as one of the nation’s most complete defensive prospects for his elite range, toughness and football instincts. He's the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class and No. 9 player in the country, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
As per 247Sports, Atkinson's game is described as:
"Quick to locate the football with his field awareness and will mirror ball carries with his rare start-stop ability and exceptional lateral burst. Has proven to be rather effective on the blitz as he will slip and dip around blockers before geting to the quarterback.
"Not one that has been asked to man-up a ton in coverage, but is comfortable dropping back into space and shading passing lanes."
As a junior in the 2024 season, Tyler Atkinson propelled Grayson to a 14-1 record and a Georgia AAAAAA state title, racking up 166 tackles, 48 quarterback hits, 13 sacks and an interception. The dominant season earned him MaxPreps National Junior of the Year honors.
Which school is trending for Tyler Atkinson?
Georgia has long been expected to land Tyler Atkinson, given it's his home-state school, and he has made several visits there. Kirby Smart has a five-star quarterback, Jared Curtis, in the 2026 class and barely loses the recruitment of in-state prospects.
As of now, the only Crystal Ball prediction on 247Sports points to Georgia. On3 also lists the Bulldogs as the frontrunners with a 32.8% chance of securing his commitment.
As for Texas, Atkinson spent more than a month in Austin this summer, training with former Longhorn star Derrick Johnson. He took an official visit to Texas on June 20 and noted that Steve Sarkisian’s staff envisions him as the “quarterback of the defense,” covering the entire field.
Atkinson also checked out Oregon on June 6, and Dan Lanning's staff have only intensified their efforts to land him since that visit. Atkinson visited Clemson in May. Following the trip, he said "Coach Dabo (Swinney) is a different kind of coach" and genuinely wants him for the Tigers.
Rivals’ Chad Simmons weighed in on Atkinson’s recruitment:
“Georgia has been viewed as the favorite with Atkinson. The Longhorns are pushing hard, though. He’s done training in Texas this summer and has also trained with Georgia players, too. Texas, Oregon and Clemson will all have to go through UGA for the top-ranked linebacker, but it remains a tight race as a decision starts to near.”
Out of these schools, Georgia has a linebacker commit in four-star prospect Shadarius Toodle, Oregon has four-star linebacker commit Tristan Phillips, while Texas also has a linebacker commit in four-star prospect Kosi Okpala.
Clemson doesn’t have a linebacker commit in the 2026 class as of now, so Tyler Atkinson's commitment could be a game-changing move for any of these schools.
