This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star Tyler Atkinson at Grayson High School. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 LB and the No. 9 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 1 LB and No. 8 overall.
Seeing Tyler Atkinson fill the “A” gap on his official visits this month is like watching Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby.
Every school wants to hit home runs. They all do, and it becomes a matter of which program hits the most.
Or better yet, which big flies travel the farthest?
Clemson impressed with everything from its usual pitch to designing specific “AtkNup” packages in honor of his social media hashtag. Oregon had specific “AtkNup” scheme branding, tailored marketing, and some of those OV photos involved haz-mat suits and a mutagen substance to develop players.
Was that really Dan Lanning in one of those bright yellow suits?
For Georgia this past weekend, the Dawgs needed their official visit to clear the fences at every turn. Like Aaron Judge facing the Atlanta Braves bullpen.
Just how good did it go?
Picture Georgia coach Kirby Smart, defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, and junior CJ Allen all with their hats on backward, peppering the bleachers the way Ken Griffey Jr. did. According to Intel, it was an absolute home run of an official visit.
The 5-star Grayson LB is the best inside-the-box LB prospect the state of Georgia has produced since former All-American, Butkus Award winner, and NFL All-Pro Roquan Smith.
The Dawgs packed in the special moments for Team Atkinson the way Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed an epic 91 homers back in the 2019 Home Run Derby.
“I won’t forget this visit,” Atkinson said.
What led him to specifically feel that way?
“That’s a good question,” he said. “But I’m going to keep it to myself on this one.”
That was interesting. It was the second straight time Atkinson respectfully said he wanted to keep a UGA recruiting detail internal. The first came when he was asked after the Grayson spring game what his recent chats with Roquan Smith had been about.
We’ve tried to get more Intel about why this past weekend in Athens will be hard to forget. This isn’t everything, but the highlight reel for the Dawgs would look like this:
- When the current four stalwarts of the LB room posed with him for the photo shoot on his official visit, that was a special moment. That specific home run flew so far that it picked up SkyMiles when it landed in the cheap seats.
- The talks he had with Schumann continue to stand out. Those are the ones that go two hours, but seem like 30 minutes. Those are times that only come to a halt when someone starts banging on the wall, which meant it was time to go.
- When safeties coach Travaris Robinson dialed up his energy watching Atkinson come out for his photo shoot in the all-black Georgia uniform, it was noticed. The 5-star LB got caught up in the moment in all the dancing.
- Allen was his host. Atkinson spent the weekend with the guy most around the program would point to as one of the clear “Alphas” of the team, if not the outright leader. “CJ just tells me about Georgia, and he thinks that it would be a good fit for me to come to Georgia, too,” Atkinson said.
- “Every visit I go on, it is crazy that it has already been 15 times, there has always been something new to learn or something new I see,” Atkinson said. “There is always something new that pops up.”
- When Georgia shows him how hard it will be to thrive in the grind of their program, that gets him excited. He wants to find a school that will maximize his effort level and test his limits daily.
- Atkinson pays close attention to the makeup of Schumann’s room. It is not just packed with 5-star talent, but the overall LB culture is just different. That is one of the most impressive things to him about Georgia.
How did he describe all of that?
“It really was talking to Kirby [Smart] and being there with the linebackers they’ve got now,” Atkinson said. “Talking to Coach Schu [defensive coordinator Glenn Schumman] and just the relationship I have with them. That was just a great moment.”
But there was one more moon shot. It was something only those who closely follow the Georgia program would recognize.
It was with Coach Smart. Smart had his mother, Sharon Smart, with him at dinner on the visit weekend. DawgNation was told it was the first time his mother had ever joined her son on an official visit event.
This was the first Father’s Day weekend for his family after the passing of Sonny Smart, his father. The significance of Smart’s mother gracing their table Friday night made for an extra-special official visit moment.
Each highlight shaped the message he got from the Dawgs over the weekend.
“They want me there,” Atkinson said. “They want me bad. They are doing everything they can to get me there. That’s the message.”
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson chills in a blue tracksuit on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the UGA basketball game in Athens, Georgia. He's sitting with his father Victor (far left), Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his mother Laura Atkinson at the game. Atkinson is the nation's No. 1 LB in the 2026 class and a major priority for the Bulldogs in the new cycle. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Jeff Sentell12 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo1 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo2 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo3 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo4 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo5 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo6 of 12
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo7 of 12
5-star Grayson High School LB Tyler Atkinson is the nation's No. 1 LB for the Class of 2026. There are a lot of schools on his mind, including Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation)Photographer: Jeff Sentell8 of 12
5-star Grayson High School LB Tyler Atkinson is the nation's No. 1 LB for the Class of 2026. There are a lot of schools on his mind, including Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation)Photographer: Jeff Sentell9 of 12
5-star Grayson High School LB Tyler Atkinson is the nation's No. 1 LB for the Class of 2026. There are a lot of schools on his mind, including Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation)Photographer: Jeff Sentell10 of 12
5-star LB target Tyler Atkinson poses with Georgia LBs coach and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann during an in-home visit on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in Loganville, GA. (Jeff Sentell/ DawgNation)Photographer: Courtesy photo11 of 12- 5-star LB Tyler Atkinson chills in a blue tracksuit on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the UGA basketball game in Athens, Georgia. He's sitting with his father Victor (far left), Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his mother Laura Atkinson at the game. Atkinson is the nation's No. 1 LB in the 2026 class and a major priority for the Bulldogs in the new cycle. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Jeff Sentell12 of 12
- 5-star LB Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 LB prospect in America for the Class of 2026. The Grayson High School star just took his official visit to UGA on June 13-15. (Courtesy photo)Photographer: Courtesy photo1 of 12
The moving parts of the Tyler Atkinson decision
Atkinson has been savvy in how he’s released his officials. The Clemson, Oregon, and UGA visits were released on a weekly basis. It seems logical to project that Ohio State will be the next school to get an OV, but that’s not official yet.
It is all building to something. Atkinson said the goal is to be committed before Grayson plays its first game this fall. The 5-star got a tattoo of a pair of eyes on his knee a few weeks back.
He’s spent a lot of time in Texas over the last month preparing for his senior season. The meaning of those eyes was intentional. Like almost everything with Atkinson.
“It’s my eye,” he said. “It just means a lot because it is my eye. It is just tunnel vision. That is what it means. I have it on me, so when I see it, it is all tunnel vision, is what I am seeing.”
Atkinson’s “tunnel vision” is locked on his senior year. Defending the GHSA state title, Grayson won last December. That’s why he’s always working, including some workouts in the past with former Georgia LB Quay Walker and perhaps more to come with 2024 Butkus Winner Jalon Walker.
Atkinson has stayed in contact with Roquan Smith. They’ve had some deep conversations recently. It seems everyone is working on Atkinson, including the 5-star QB commit Jared Curtis.
“Oh yeah, I’ve talked to Jared Curtis a lot,” Atkinson said. “Oh yeah, he wants me there.”
What was the most fun Atkinson had this weekend?
“Spending time with the guys and the players and really just talking ball with Coach Schu,” Atkinson said.
What do those “tunnel vision” eyes think is the best thing Georgia has going for it now?
“They have a great coaching staff and the players, and they just, they just want to win,” Atkinson said. “That’s just what they have got.”
The ties at UGA run deep. When Nolan Smith was wreaking havoc for Georgia, and Atkinson was projected as an edge rusher, Smart took notice of his size and advised him to get some reps at inside linebacker.
While he can still rush from the EDGE like his hair’s on fire, that bit of advice allowed Atkinson to develop into the nation’s No. 1 prospect at LB. When Georgia offered him back in March 2022, he said it was his “dream school.”
Atkinson noted it was his 15th visit to check out the Dawgs. He’ll be back in Athens on Wednesday for a 7-on-7 camp with his Grayson team.
That will be visit No. 16 for Atkinson to Athens. That’s his jersey number and the one he will hope to wear at the college of his choice.
What was the last thing Schumann said to him on his official visit?
“He said he’ll see me on Wednesday,” Atkinson said.
It will also be the last time Atkinson is in Athens before he makes his decision. Could there be some unique symmetry to that?
We shall see, but the Dawgs definitely knocked it out of the park, letting him know where home was this weekend.
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special on YouTube yet? Check it out below.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(Check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
