5-Star Recruit Tyler Atkinson To Commit To Texas, Georgia, Oregon Or Clemson On Pat McAfee?

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Atkinson is a product of Lawrenceville (GA) Grayson. Atkinson was impressed with the Oregon coaching staff after an official visit to Eugene.

While Georgia has been the frontrunner to land the elite in-state prospect, Texas is making a late push. The Longhorns received the last official visit and Rivals recruiting experts Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong have logged expert predictions for Texas to land the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class.

Atkinson had said that he planned to commit in July but the timing is interesting as both Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian are set to speak Tuesday at SEC media days. Georgia and Texas are SEC powerhouses who battled for the SEC Championship last December.

The No. 1 linebacker and No. 9 player in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings, Atkinson visited Oregon on June 6. Since then, the Ducks have only ramped up their pursuit of the highly-touted prospect.

The Ducks face a tough path as they attempt to battle the SEC for Atkinson's commitment. On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Longhorns an 88.9 percent chance of landing Atkinson while Georgia has a 3.6 percent chance, Oregon has a 1 percent chance and Clemson has a 1.2 percent chance.

Should Atkinson commit to Texas, Sarkisian's 2026 recruiting class rankings will certainly jump. The Longhorns currently have the No. 14 ranked class, while Clemson is at No. 10, Oregon is at No. 6 and Georgia is No. 1.

“My OV to Texas was eye-opening," Atkinson told On3. "This was my fourth visit with the Longhorns outside of pretty much living in Austin the past month for training. I have made some great connections there for sure."

Of course, Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) is a factor as well.

So far the Ducks have one linebacker committed in the 2026 class in four-star Tristan Phillips. Another linebacker recruit the Ducks are targeting is four-star Nick Abrams II, who will announce his commitment on Wednesday, July 16.

The Ducks have three five-star (per On3) commits so far in offensive lineman Immanuel Iheanacho, safety Jett Washington and tight end Kendre Harrison.

How does Lanning and Oregon address NIL with players in an increasingly competitive environment?

“In a landscape where you can take care of players, that's what we want to be. I don't want to get anybody at a discount," Lanning told Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus. "I don't want to say, 'Oh you came here and worked for cheap.' If they do a great job, they deserve to reap the benefits of that. They're the ones filling the stands. And we've been able to be competitive from that environment."

"We're probably not always the highest bidder. In fact, I know we aren't. But I know that we're able to be competitive and fair with our players and create great opportunities for them,” Lanning continued.

Maybe Atkinson will surprise many and pick the Ducks. The college football world won't have to wait long to find out. This article will be updated.