ESPN Analyst Greg McElroy Shares Hot Take on Auburn Football’s Xavier Atkins

The linebacker group of the Auburn Tigers is among the best in the nation, and they are led by arguably one of the best individual linebackers in the country: Xavier Atkins.

Atkins was a complete difference-maker on DJ Durkin’s defense in 2025, and ESPN’s Greg McElroy believes that his momentum is not going to slow down– rather, it is going to increase exponentially.

“Xavier Atkins will finish this season as arguably the most disruptive individual linebacker in college football,” McElroy said during a ‘Hot Takes’ section of his show, “Always College Football.” “You look at his numbers from last year with the Auburn Tigers… now, with a four-player rotation to kind of keep him fresh, running a system that he’s really comfortable with, coached by DJ Durkin, the statistical ceiling for Atkins this year is Butkus Award.”

Atkins shocked the world in 2025 when he dropped a team-leading 84 tackles, 60 solo tackles and nine sacks during his sophomore year with the Tigers after transferring in from LSU, where he only recorded three tackles during his freshman season. In fact, Atkins’s 17.0 tackles for loss led the SEC and was the most any Auburn linebacker had ever recorded in a season, all in his first year as a true starter.

Atkins received a host of awards for his contribution to the Tigers defense in 2025, including (deep breath) 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.

Atkins was really just that good for the Tigers in 2025, and he is certainly not looking to slow down in 2026. A major aspect of the Tigers’ defense that will surely help him in his pursuit of continued greatness is the sheer number of returners the Tigers have in that unit, which McElroy ranked as the third-best in the country.

Atkins and fellow junior Demarcus Riddick highlight the ‘true starters’ in an Auburn linebacker corps that is expected to play something of a four-man rotation that also includes Bryce Deas and Elijah Melendez. This is a much deeper room than last year, which should provide ample opportunity for all four of the Tigers’ linebackers to stay fresh and make sure their impact is maximized.

Atkins is, without a doubt, the Tigers’ most hyped player on defense this year. Now, it is up to him to live up to that hype.

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