Grayson High’s Tyler Atkinson, No. 1 prospect in Georgia, commits to Texas

Atkinson is the No. 9 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. In addition, he is the No. 1-ranked linebacker and the No. 1 player in Georgia for the cycle.

No school recruited Atkinson more consistently than Georgia. The Bulldogs first extended a scholarship offer when he was an eighth grader, long before he turned into the leader of a state championship defense at Grayson.

As a junior, he recorded 166 tackles, 32 tackles for loss and 13 sacks.

Atkinson’s finalists were Georgia, Texas, Oregon and Clemson. Georgia and Texas received the final two visits. Despite Atkinson’s long ties to UGA, Texas was able to make a strong late push for Atkinson’s services. During June, Atkinson spent extensive time training in Texas, giving him a taste of the area.

This is not the first time that Georgia and Texas have gone head-to-head for five-star recruits in recent cycles. In 2024, Georgia landed Justin Williams out of Conroe, Texas. He was the No. 1 linebacker in that recruiting cycle. His teammate, five-star defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, also signed with Georgia.

In the 2025 recruiting cycle, Texas was able to pull Manchester’s Justus Terry away from the home-state Bulldogs.

Georgia and Texas have already gone head-to-head multiple times in this recruiting cycle. Georgia landed four-star defensive lineman James Johnson and four-star defensive back Chace Calicut over the Longhorns. The latter is a Texas native. Five-star running back Derrek Cooper, who is also considering Georgia and Texas, will announce his commitment Sunday.

As for where the Atkinson decision leaves Georgia, the Bulldogs still have 29 commitments in the class, with 16 in-state products.

At linebacker, Georgia holds a commitment from four-star prospect Shadarius Toodle. The Bulldogs won’t have to wait much longer to learn the status of another one of their top linebacker targets, with four-star prospect Nick Abrams announcing his commitment Wednesday. Georgia is battling Oregon for his services.

Georgia signed the No. 1-ranked linebacker in each of the previous two recruiting classes, as the Bulldogs landed Zayden Walker in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson are draft-eligible juniors, with both seen as critical leaders on the 2025 Georgia team. Also, Williams and fellow former five-star prospect Chris Cole are poised to take on even bigger roles at Georgia this coming season.

In his time as Georgia’s inside linebackers coach, Glenn Schumann has turned out three Butkus Award winners and three first-round picks. He is on the very short list for best position coaches in the country.