Ducks Digest

Georgia Bulldogs, Tennessee Or Oregon To Land 5-Star Recruit Tyler Atkinson? Ducks Visit Looms

The Oregon Ducks and coach Dan Lanning are recruiting the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class, five-star Tyler Atkinson. The Georgia-native plans to visit Eugene. Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Clemson are teams of interest to Atkinson.

Ally Osborne

Class of 2026 Grayson High School Linebacker Recruit Tyler Atkinson
Class of 2026 Grayson High School Linebacker Recruit Tyler Atkinson / Credit: @tyler16atkinson on "X"
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The recruiting season is never over, but it is heating up for the Oregon Ducks. With several recruits for the 2026 and 2027 seasons being pursued by top programs, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and company are hard at work to sway talent to the "Duck side".

One of those prospects for the Ducks is the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class: Tyler Atkinson. The five-star recruit is nationally the No. 7 athlete in his class, and the top athlete in his home state of Georgia.

Before competing in the Navy All-American Bowl on Saturday, January 11th in San Antonio Texas, the Grayson High School Junior spoke about his recruitment process with On3 Sports.

“I’m an open book right now. I have not gotten far with coming up with a top five or a top 10. I’m still interested in schools that are contacting me a lot more. I’m really soaking it in and trying to figure out who I want to take my official visits to," Atkinson said to On3.

Atkinson currently has 49 offers from schools across the country including Oregon, but it seems the Georgia native is favoring schools closer to home. Atkinson has taken 26 unofficial visits (not counting junior days for programs). According to 247 Sports, Atkinson has a "warm" interest in Clemson, Georgia, Auburn, and Tennessee.

Atkinson has made unofficial visits to Tennessee the most, stopping by the Volunteers' stomping grounds five times since his first ever college visit to Tennessee in November of 2021. Atkinson has yet to visit the Oregon campus, but On3 reported that the linebacker is looking to make his way to Eugene before January is over.

“I am trying to go out to Oregon to check the program out. They’ve been on me heavily. But right now, I’m still figuring out my schedule," Atkinson said to On3.

Atkinson also told On3 about his relationship with Lanning, and how he feels about the culture being built at Oregon.

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“I have great relationships at Oregon," Atkinson said to On3. "I’ve been talking to them for a couple of weeks and they’ve started to pick up heavily in their recruitment of me. I’ve known coach Dan Lanning since I was in eighth grade. He used to coach at Georgia. The relationship I had with him when he was at Georgia was great, so I want to see if we can rekindle that. I want to see what Oregon has when it comes to personnel and the school. I want to see what their plan is for me if I go there.”

Atkinson would be quite the pick-up for the Ducks defensively, with departing senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa and the potential of linebacker Bryce Boettcher not getting an extra year waiver.

"Quick to locate the football with his field awareness and will mirror ball carries with his rare start-stop ability and exceptional lateral burst," said Andrew Ivins, 247 Sports' Director of Scouting about Atkins in December. "Has proven to be rather effective on the blitz as he will slip and dip around blockers before getting 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."

According to Ivans, Atkins has the talent to adapt to a college setting due to his dominance playing high school ball in Georgia.

"Must keep improving play strength and get better at attacking college-sized linemen, but should be viewed as a playmaking second-level defender that can rack up stops all over the field like he has been doing since he was a freshman for one of the Peach State’s top programs."

Atkins told On3 he'll narrow down his school list "whenever that moment feels right."

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Ally Osborne
ALLY OSBORNE

A born and raised Oregonian, Ally was raised going up and down the steps of Autzen Stadium. Ally graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications in 2021. She currently works at KOIN 6 and Portland's CW in Portland, Oregon where she hosts the lifestyle program "Everyday Northwest" and reports for the KOIN Sports team. She's also a graphic designer in her free time, with several of her works created for Oregon athletes.

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