Tyler Atkinson, No. 1 linebacker in the country, commits to Texas over Georgia

Tyler Atkinson has made up his mind. The No. 1 player in the state of Georgia will leave the state to play for the Texas Longhorns.

Atkinson made his commitment live on an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday.

Atkinson is the No. 9 overall player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. In addition, he is the No. 1-ranked linebacker and the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia for the cycle.

No school recruited Atkinson more consistently than Georgia. The Bulldogs first extended an offer when he was an eighth-grader, long before he turned into the leader of a state championship defense at Grayson High School.

As a junior, he finished up 166 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 13 sacks.

Atkinson’s finalists were Georgia, Texas, Oregon and Clemson. Georgia and Texas received the final two visits. Despite the long ties to Georgia, Texas was able to make a strong late push for Atkinson’s services. During the month of June, Atkinson spent extensive time training in the state of Texas, giving him a taste of the area.

This is not the first time that Georgia and Texas have gone head-to-head for five-star recruits in recent cycles. In 2024, Georgia landed Justin Williams out of Conroe, Texas. He was the No. 1 linebacker in that recruiting cycle. His teammate, five-star defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, also left Texas for Georgia.

In the 2025 recruiting cycle, Texas was able to pull Manchester, Georgia, product Justus Terry away from the home-state Bulldogs.

Georgia and Texas have gone head-to-head multiple times in this recruiting cycle already. Georgia landed four-star defensive lineman James Johnson and four-star defensive back Chace Calicut. The latter is a Texas native. Five-star running back Derrek Cooper, who is also considering Georgia and Texas, will announce his commitment on Sunday.

As for where the Atkinson decision leaves Georgia,the Bulldogs still have 29 commitments in the class, with 16 being instate products.

At the linebacker position, Georgia holds a commitment from four-star prospect Shadarius Toodle. The Bulldogs won’t have to wait much longer to learn the status of another one of their top linebacker targets, with four-star prospect Nick Abrams announcing his commitment on Wednesday. Georgia is battling Oregon for his services.

Georgia is set up for success at the linebacker position moving forward, independent of Tuesday’s news. Georgia has signed the No. 1-ranked linebacker in each of the previous two recruiting classes, as the Bulldogs landed Zayden Walker in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson are draft-eligible juniors, but both are seen as critical leaders on the 2025 Georgia team. Williams and fellow former five-star prospect Chris Cole are also poised to take on even bigger roles at Georgia this coming season.

In his time as Georgia’s inside linebackers coach, Glenn Schumann has turned out three Butkus Award winners and three first-round picks at the position. He is on the very shortlist for best position coaches in the country.


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