Tag: Xavier Atkins

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 ā€” 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!

Three priority 2024 recruits are visiting Texas A&M this weekend

This weekend, Texas A&M is hosting three priority recruits in the 2024 cycle, including 5-star EDGE Colin Simmons

No, this is not an April Fool’s joke, because joking about recruiting on any day is just plain wrong! Texas A&M is nearing the end of its second full week of spring football this weekend, and while most of the 2023 roster continues to prepare for the Maroon and White spring game on April 15th, head coach Jimbo Fisher is also hosting three of the program’s priority recruits in the 2024 class.

As one of the most sought-after players in the class, five-star EDGE Colin Simmons, whose Aprils 1st visit has been known for quite some time now made his visit to College Station known to the public this afternoon, soaking in everything A&M has to offer in what is hopefully a very productive visit during his recruiting battle.

Next up, four-star linebacker and current LSU commit Xavier Atkins is still taking visits, including one to College Station to check out A&M’s Saturday scrimmage, marking this third campus visit, and a good sign that the Aggies are still in play for a potential commitment flip if the all the star align.

Last but not least, the four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith, who remains uncommitted but is a favorite land with Oklahoma in accordance with 247Sports’ Crystal ball, Texas A&M offered the talented defender back in May of last year, where he returned in June and July for multiple campus visits, making this his third A&M visit overall. The Aggies remain one of Smith’s top remaining programs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one more visit takes place this summer.

Even though Simmons, Atkins, and Smith aren’t the only recruits visiting this weekend, landing either one of these three rising stars would be a huge step towards building for the future at key positions. As always, Gig ‘Em, and BTHO the off-season.

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LSU offers 2024 three-star linebacker from Georgia

Devin Smith primarily projects as an edge rusher at the next level.

[autotag]Devin Smith[/autotag] is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker from the class of 2024. He is from Brunswick, Georgia, where he plays for Brunswick High School. The Brunswick Pirates finished the 2022 season 10-1 with an overtime loss to Houston County in the first round of the GHSA 6A playoffs.

LSU’s 2024 recruiting class is currently ranked as the No. 2 class in the country and it includes two linebackers so far. ([autotag]Maurice Williams Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag]) The Tigers are running thin depth-wise at linebacker, so Smith would be a great addition.

Film Analysis:Ā Smith lines up as an outside linebacker in the Pirates 3-4 set and uses his speed off the edge to disrupt plays in the backfield.

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Looking at LSU football’s commits so far in No. 1-ranked 2024 class

A running tracker of the Tigers’ 2024 commitments.

It’s never too early to look at recruits that are two years away, right? These kids are going into their junior year of high school this fall, but they already have big dreams and aspirations of playing in Death Valley and donning the purple and gold.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is getting out ahead of his competition and earning commitments from the best players in the class of 2024. So far, the Tigers have eight commits for this class ā€” ranking No. 1 nationally, per On3 ā€” and that list is growing by the day. So, let’s take a look at all of the athletes that have committed to playing for LSU in 2024.

Disclaimer: Even though these kids are currently committed to LSU until they put pen to paper and sign their names on the dotted line, they can change their minds and play elsewhere. This list will be updated as more players commit.