This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star LB Tyler Atkinson. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 LB and the No. 7 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 1 LB and at No. 9 overall.
5-star LB Tyler Atkinson was in Athens again on Saturday.
When a prospect plays like this guy has for the last three years and it finally the time his senior class is up as the next group to sign, things start to get serious.
Atkinson and family and his Grayson High family saw Kirby Smart land a helicopter at his school on Friday. Then they got priority treatment at “Junior Day” this weekend. Atkinson was with a lot of priority targets on Saturday, but he was the only 5-star recruit in town.
Atkinson had a lot to say about that visit. The big visual highlight from that trip was him sitting courtside with Kirby Smart. Smart had Atkinson and his parents right by his side as the Hoop Dawgs battled it out with Auburn on the hardwood.
But before all of that stuff, we wanted to know was it like to sit courtside with Smart?
Is he locked onto the effort levels and hustle of every player? Does he want to see that tight lockstep defense? Or does he want to see dunks and 3’s getting jacked up from all angles like his wife Mary Beth did when she played at Stegeman Coliseum?
Atkinson laughed at that question.
“You can tell Kirby enjoys the games and loves to see players compete,” Atkinson told DawgNation. “He is just a natural competitor. He watches everything.”
While that might sound like a breezy question, it was far from it. That answer can explain how the Dawgs are going to recruit Atkinson as an apex priority for this new recruitng cycle.
When Georgia brings up how Atkinson will might into their defensive scheme, they bring up the greats. When they bring up what he can be in their defense, they don’t just bring up former stars.
They break out some clear “DGD” types.
“We talked a lot about that yesterday,” Atkinson said. “They mention players like Roquan [Smith], [Jalon] Walker, Nolan [Smith], Nakobe [Dean] and Quay [Walker.]
That’s a wow answer, filled with three players that were NFL first-round picks and another in Jalon Walker who is about to be, too.
Atkinson and his camp value development more than anything else in their college fit. Save for perhaps relationships. Those two elements likely go hand-in-hand.
That roll call of names have all came through Athens during Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann’s time with the program over the last six years. No team in the nation can boast a better development tree at LB than what Schumann and Smart have produced at Georgia.
The last few days have shown Atkinson and his family just how much those two would like to tell future 5-star LBs about him playing at the level of an all-time-great in Athens.
It started when the KirbyCopter flew to see him at his school on Friday.
“We had some really good conversations about different things,” Atkinson said. “They really want me there.”
The Saturday visit was filled with information.
“The impression on my family was great,” Atkinson told DawgNation. “They gave my Mom and Dad a lot of details on what being there would look like.”
Smart might have been watching everything on the court, but Atkinson was watching the 2-time national champion coach interact with his family.
“Seeing Kirby and my pops really vibing during the game was dope,” he told DawgNation. “I like how they made sure my Mom was comfortable and stuff. [That was] great to me. It was really good.”
Tyler Atkinson: Where does Georgia football stand in his recruitment?
Atkinson said he had a lot of one-on-one time with both Smart and Schumann.
“I have learned something new every visit,” he said. “A lot of the new things I learned yesterday are really just my personal takeaways. UGA has always made me feel like a top priority but they have took it up a few levels.”
What exactly did ‘took it up a few levels’ look like this weekend?
“In regards to the relationships,” he said. “The plans they would have and stuff like that.”
“They really want me there.”
Where do the Bulldogs now stand in his recruitment? He actually brought that up.
“I really prefer not to class anyone as a top one yet because I am still chopping down to the top schools I am considering. I plan on dropping a top five or top six soon.”
“When it comes to my final decision, I really want to make sure I get it right because I am going to give that program my all just like I do at Grayson and I want to know that the school I pick will give me their all, too.”
The Bulldogs did an exemplary job this weekend convincing Atkinson that they plan to do that, too.
Atkinson has probably visited UGA close to 20 times by now since he was in middle school. He was offered in March of 2022. The weekend visit, combined with his visit during Sugar Bowl practices, has done what it is supposed to do.
They are moving the needle and showing Atkinson how much they really want him in the red and black.
Atkinson has already reached the point where this reporter feels like he’s the best LB prospect to come out of the state of Georgia since the great Roquan Smith. The scary part is that he’s still got his senior year to go.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound rising senior has already stacked up 475 career tackles, 93 QB hurries, 79 TFLs, 31.5 sacks and one state championship this past December.
Check out his junior tape below and judge for yourself:
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
