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Atkins named to On3's 2026 Top 100 players in college football

by: Caleb Jones05/21/26CalebJ_Rivals

With 100 days until college football returns, On3’s Clark Brooks released the top 100 players in college football for 2026 Thursday.

Auburn’s Xavier Atkins earned national recognition by checking in at No. 19 on the list.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise — Atkins was the Tigers’ top defensive player a season ago and is in line for another big year under defensive coordinator DJ Durkin this fall.

Atkins transferred from LSU to Auburn ahead of the 2025 season, where he won the starting linebacker job as a sophomore and put together a season laden with awards and honors. He recorded 84 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks, all of which led the team.

His 17 tackles for loss ranked No. 1 in the SEC, while also ranking third all-time in Auburn history for a single season dating back to 1981.

Atkins put together a career performance in Auburn’s lone SEC victory last season on the road against Arkansas. In the 33-24 win, Atkins tallied a career-high 13 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and recovered a fumble. It earned him SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week and Bronco Nagurski Award National Defensive Player of the Week honors, just a few of his accolades from the season.

By the time the season ended, Atkins had earned First-Team All SEC, Second-Team All America and Monday Morning QB Birmingham Club SEC Most Valuable Lineman honors. He was also a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is awarded to the most outstanding defensive player across college football.

QUOTE OF NOTE

Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin spoke on Xavier Atkins earlier this year and the expectations for him this season.

“I think his numbers speak for themselves,” Durkin said. “Obviously, in production at a very high rate. It was really fun for me to see…to see him play at that level, it’s been tremendous. I think he has a lot of room for improvement in his game. I think he’s got a lot of ways to get better. Those numbers are hard to improve on, but we’re certainly going to strive for it.”