Tag: Xavier Atkins

Auburn adds LSU transfer LB Xavier Atkins

Atkins played in five games at LSU during the 2024 season.

Auburn boosted its roster Wednesday by adding a linebacker with SEC experience.

[autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag], a linebacker from Humble, Texas, announced his commitment to Auburn on Wednesday after spending his true freshman season at LSU. Atkins signed with LSU as the No. 25 linebacker from the 2024 class according to 247Sports composite rankings, choosing the Bayou Bengals over Texas A&M.

In his debut season in Baton Rouge, Atkins appeared in five games where he logged 31 snaps, mostly at middle linebacker. Atkins recorded three tackles with two quarterback pressures.

Atkins is the 10th transfer player to commit to Auburn since the winter transfer portal window opened on Dec. 6. He is the fourth defensive player to commit to the Tigers this cycle, joining cornerback [autotag]Raion Strader[/autotag] (Miami University), defensive lineman Dallas Walker (Western Kentucky), and safety [autotag]Taye Seymore[/autotag] (Georgia Tech).

According to 247Sports, Atkins is Auburn’s No. 8 incoming transfer. Virginia Tech offensive line transfer [autotag]Xavier Chaplin[/autotag] takes the top spot, followed by USC OL transfer [autotag]Mason Murphy[/autotag], Miami (Ohio) cornerback Raidon Strader, and Oklahoma quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

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LSU four-star linebacker transferring to old SEC West rival

LSU is losing a talented linebacker to an old SEC west rival

An LSU linebacker is transferring to one of the Tigers’ longtime rivals. [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag] announced his commitment to Auburn on Tuesday, joining Hugh Freeze’s group after spending one year at LSU.

Atkins was a four-star linebacker in the class of 2024. The On3 Industry Rankings slotted Atkins as the No. 309 ranked overall prospect, the No. 24 linebacker, and the No. 50 recruit in Texas. Atkins was originally from Louisiana.

Atkins hitting the portal was not a surprise. With [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] and [autotag]Dahvon Keys[/autotag] both seeing significant playing time in 2024, LSU didn’t offer much of an opportunity at linebacker.

LSU’s depth takes a hit with Atkins departure, and it’s not great when a young blue-chip recruit goes to an SEC rival, but the Tigers like where they sit at the position.

There’s also a chance LSU returns star linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], who continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in the win over UCLA.

Atkins joins an Auburn transfer class that is among the best in the SEC. So far, the Tigers have added ten players from the portal.

Transfer portal losses piling up for LSU on defense with three more entries

Three more LSU defenders hit the transfer portal on Friday, including a four-star linebacker.

LSU football’s defensive depth continues to take hits with three more defenders hitting the portal. According to reports, LB [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag], CB [autotag]Jyaire Brown[/autotag], and CB [autotag]Bernard Causey[/autotag] all plan to transfer when the portal window opens.

Atkins was a four-star linebacker in the class of 2024. According to Rivals, he was the No. 7 ranked linebacker in the class. As a freshman, Atkins played 31 snaps on defense, including seven in the win over Ole Miss and 11 against Arkansas. He recorded a pressure in both contests.

Causey was another member of the 2024 class. He was a three-star from New Orleans but didn’t see the field as a freshman.

Brown was an Ohio State transfer that was part of LSU’s secondary overhaul entering 2024. But he didn’t play much as LSU relied on veteran Zy Alexander and a group of younger corners. He was in the rotation to start the year but was phased out and didn’t see any time on defense in October and November.

All three entries hurt LSU’s depth and losing freshmen like Atkins and Causey doesn’t give LSU the chance to develop players that weren’t ready to contribute right away, but fans shouldn’t overreact to depth pieces entering the portal.

LSU will have a chance to restock defensive depth when the portal officially opens.

Former LSU linebacker Christian Brathwaite finds new home in the transfer portal

Christian Brathwaite is heading to Houston after one season at LSU.

A redshirt freshman linebacker from LSU has announced his new destination after entering the transfer portal. [autotag]Christian Brathwaite[/autotag] will be continuing his college football career at Houston.

Brathwaite is a 6-foot-1, 218-pound linebacker who was a former four-star recruit out of Cypress, Texas. Last season, Brathwaite played in five games for the Tigers and made three tackles. Two of them came against Auburn and one came against Missouri.

Now that he is heading to Houston, he is headed back closer to home.

The Tigers have a new defensive coordinator in Blake Baker and they still have a very talented linebacker room. [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag], West and Whit Weeks, [autotag]Davhon Keys[/autotag], [autotag]Matt Jayne[/autotag], [autotag]Tylen Singleton[/autotag], and [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag] make up a solid linebacker room that can get the job done on any given Saturday.

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Four-star LSU commit shuts recruitment down

LSU got good news on the recruiting trail this week.

LSU got good news on the recruiting trail with four-star linebacker Xavier Atkins shutting his commitment down.

Per On3, Atkins said LSU is “just different from everybody else.”

“Death Valley just hits different,” he said,

Atkins is rated as a four-star on three of the four major recruiting sites. The lone site to give him three-stars was 247Sports. He’s a consensus top-300 player according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

There was a lot of smoke about Atkins looking elsewhere, so this is a positive turn.

LSU’s looking good at linebacker in 2024. Atkins is one of three blue-chip commits pledged to LSU’s class that will join a talented group of players already on the roster.

LSU went into Texas to land Atkins, beating out the likes of major Texas schools like Texas A&M and TCU.

According to 247Sports, LSU’s 2024 class sits 10th nationally. The Tigers have 24 commits, with 18 four-stars and six three-stars.

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On3 projects Texas A&M to flip LSU linebacker commit

Xavier Atkins was expected to attend Bayou Splash, but he opted to head to College Station, instead.

The Tigers have quite a bit of momentum on the recruiting trail right now, but they may be on the verge of losing a commitment.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine now projects that four-star linebacker commit [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag] will flip to Texas A&M with that prediction holding at 82.6% confidence.

Atkins was expected to be one of the visitors for the busy Bayou Splash recruiting event this weekend, but he ultimately opted to attend a pool party in College Station instead. Following that decision, LSU insiders Shea Dixon and Billy Embody issued flip predictions, seemingly signaling an incoming decision.

If Atkins does choose to flip to the Aggies, it’s a loss the Tigers could handle. He ranks inside the top 300 nationally according to On3, but LSU has a good linebacker class headlined by top-250 players in [autotag]Tylen Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kolaj Cobbins[/autotag].

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2024 4-star LB and LSU commit Xavier Atkins is now predicted to flip to Texas A&M

According to On3 LSU insider Billy Embody, 2024 4-star linebacker Xavier Atkins is now predicted to flip to Texas A&M

Amid hosting some of the top prospects in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes this weekend during the Aggies’ annual recruiting pool party, some big news regarding one of the weekend visitors, 2024 four-star linebacker and current LSU commit Xavier Atkins, crept its way into the media sphere on Saturday.

Atkins, who has been committed to the Tigers since July 5, has now received a prediction from On3 LSU insider Billy Embody to flip his commitment to Texas A&M, as both parties have been in constant communication this summer since his unofficial visit to College Station back in April.

A native of Jonesboro, Louisiana, Xavier Atkins is currently positioned as the 45th-ranked linebacker in the 2024 class and the 81st-ranked player in Texas, according to On3, as he will enter his final senior at Summer Creek High School in Houston, Texas.

If Atkins were to flip to the Aggies, he would be the fourth linebacker commit in the 2024 cycle, joining Tyanthony Smith, Jordan Lockhart, and Tristan Jernigan while essentially destroying the recent negative recruiting streak regarding Jimbo Fisher’s inability to land top linebacker talent.

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LSU trying to shore things up with linebacker commit at Bayou Splash visit

Xavier Atkins has been the subject of some flip attempts after taking multiple official visits this summer.

Even when a player is committed to a school and staff, you never know for sure how a recruitment will end until signing day — and sometimes even later.

The Tigers are looking to shore things up with 2024 linebacker commit [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag], who has been the subject of a number of flip attempts this offseason, when he’s on campus for Bayou Splash next weekend.

The four-star is originally from Louisiana but transferred to Shadow Creek High School in Humble, Texas, this summer. He ranks as the No. 243 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite.

Atkins has been committed to LSU since July 5, but he’s faced several flip attempts. He’s taken multiple official visits, with schools like Arkansas, TCU, Colorado, Utah, Texas A&M and others after him, according to On3.

He’s still reportedly planning an official visit to Baton Rouge, as well.

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4-star LSU commit flips to Houston

Maurice Williams was the second highest-ranked commit in LSU’s 2024 class.

LSU suffered its second decommitment in the 2024 class on Friday night.

Four-star Pearland (Tex.) Shadow Creek linebacker [autotag]Maurice Williams[/autotag] announced his decommitment from the Tigers. Shortly after, he committed to the Houston Cougars, who are entering their first season in the Big 12.

It’s a huge loss for LSU. As the No. 110 prospect nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings, he was the second-highest-rated prospect in coach Brian Kelly’s 2024 class. He also plays safety, but his rankings are as a linebacker

Williams is currently in Houston for an official visit, and he received several Crystal Ball projections for the Cougars shortly before his decommitment.

LSU still has three other linebacker prospects committed in the class in [autotag]Kolaj Cobbins[/autotag], [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Dahvon Keys[/autotag]. All of them are four-star prospects, but they all also rank lower than Williams.

The Tigers still have 18 total prospects committed in 2024.

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PHOTOS: Texas A&M Football welcomes Class of 2024 and 2025 recruits over the weekend

It was a big weekend for Aggies football as they welcomed a number of recruits from the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes to College Station.

It may have been April Fool’s weekend for most of us, but it was no joke for Texas A&M as the Maroon and White were hard at work hosting a number of talented football recruits at College Station over the last few days.

A number of players from the Class of 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes descended upon Aggieland over the weekend with the hopes of getting a feel for the football program after already receiving offers from A&M. For a handful of players it marked a return visit, while others were able to don the Maroon and White for the first time as a potential preview.

From the looks of it, they all enjoyed their time at Aggieland as the players took to social media to share their experiences. Check out the photos below, and here’s to hoping we see some of them don the Maroon and White permanently in the future!