Auburn's Xavier Atkins Among College Football's Best Players in 2026

It is certainly no secret to anyone that Auburn Tigers linebacker Xavier Atkins is an impact player. Since transferring over from LSU ahead of the 2025 season, Atkins has proven to be one of the Tigers’ most explosive, consistent players on defense, and expectations are high for the junior as he enters his second season with the Tigers.

Last week, On3’s Clark Brooks released a list of On3’s top 100 players headed into the 2026 season, and Atkins made the list at No. 19.

“This time last year, Xavier Atkins was a disgruntled three-star looking for a fresh start down on the Plains,” Brooks wrote. “Flash forward to today, he’s ripened into On3’s most impactful linebacker in college football. “

Auburn LB Xavier Atkins flies everywhere pic.twitter.com/FG5wQ7twSl
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) May 6, 2026

And ripened he has; Atkins went from recording just three total tackles while at LSU in 2024 to leading the Tigers in tackles, solo tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. Despite joining the team with little SEC experience, Atkins was a day-one starter on defense for the Tigers, a testament to DJ Durkin’s ability to spot high-level talent.

Atkins also earned a litany of awards and honors throughout and following his dominant 2025 season, including Second Team All-America honors, First Team All-SEC honors, a nod as a Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist, a nod as Monday Morning QB Birmingham Club’s SEC Most Valuable Lineman and a SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week and Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Tigers’ matchup with Arkansas.

In the 2025 season, Atkins racked up 84 total tackles, 60 solo tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks, as well as two forced fumbles, a fumble return and an interception. Atkins certainly filled up the stat sheet for the Tigers in 2025, but Brooks argues that something else earned him a spot so high in the rankings.

“Ultimately, he finished with 81 impact plays, which are the most of any returning LB ahead of 2026. But, he wasn’t just compiling counting stats,” Brooks wrote. “Atkins’ 11.4 percent clip on a per-play basis ranked in the top 10 among high-volume Power Four defenders.”

Interestingly, Atkins was the only Tiger to crack the top 100 in a year in which the Tigers have picked up some of the best running back depth in the nation to complement returning running back Jeremiah Cobb, as well as one of the best 2025 statistical quarterbacks in the country in Byrum Brown.

Alas, it did not seem to be for the rest of the Tigers, but that means that most of the team will be playing with nothing to lose, at least in the rankings. That lack of extra pressure can make a difference, though Atkins will have to contend with the pressure as he continues through his collegiate career.

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