
5-star Oregon football target Tyler Atkinson schedules visit to Texas Longhorns
When looking at the Oregon Ducks recruiting board in the 2026 cycle, there are few players who are likely higher priorities than 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson.
Standing at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Atkinson is rated as the No. 9 player in the nation, and the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class, per the 247Sports Composite. He has been in Eugene a couple of times this year for visits, including an official visit earlier this month. A select group of Oregon coaches has also gone in-home to visit with Atkinson, and the Ducks reportedly feel good about where they stand for the elite defender.
They're going to have a lot of competition to land him, though, particularly down in SEC country.
Last week, Atkinson — a Georgia native — took yet another visit to Athens to see the Georgia Bulldogs, and this week, he announced that he is heading to see another SEC school: the Texas Longhorns.
Much like former 5-star LB Justin Williams, a high-profile member of the 2024 class, it feels as if Atkinson is being made a major priority for Lanning and his staff. Williams committed to Georgia a couple of years ago, but has had very little playing time so far with the Bulldogs.
We will see if Lanning and the Ducks are able to land Atkinson and bring him across the nation to the Pacific Northwest. If so, it would be undoubtedly one of the crowning achievements of Lanning's recruiting career thus far.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Ranking the 25 best Oregon Ducks since 2000: No. 8 — Jonathan Stewart
Over the last 25 years, the Oregon Ducks have been one of the single best teams in all of college football, sitting near the top of the sport for the better part of a quarter-century. Since 2000, Oregon has compiled an overall record of 239-83 (.742), with just two losing seasons during that span. They've been to 24 bowl games, won three Rose Bowls, been to a pair of College Football Playoffs, and appeared in two National Championships. They've seen a Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota and had 99 players selected in the NFL Draft. It's safe to say that when looking at the nation's best in this millennium, Oregon belongs in the conversation. But who are the players who helped get Nike University into that conversation? That's a different question entirely. To celebrate the quarter-century mark, we're going to dive into that question over the next month as we approach the start of the 2025 season. The Ducks have had hundreds of memorable and beloved players over the years, many of whom will live on forever in some way. But who is the best of the best? That answer, of course, is subjective. When reviewing the numbers and conducting our research, we took several factors into account: career statistics, overall impact and success, legacy, fan adoration, and NFL success. Boiling 25 years of Oregon football down to 25 players is no easy task, and not one that we took lightly. Dozens of players were left on the cutting room floor who deserve a spot in the top 25, and at some point, subtracting names off the list started to feel like pulling teeth. But in the end, we were left with 25 players, whom we will honor over the next few weeks. If you want to catch up, let's take a look at how we've gotten to where we're at in the rankings: · No. 25 — Bucky Irving · No. 24 — TJ Ward · No. 23 — Tez Johnson · No. 22 — Troy Dye · No. 21 — Samie Parker · No. 20 — Patrick Chung · No. 19 — Kayvon Thibodeaux · No. 18 — Troy Franklin · No. 17 — Nick Reed · No. 16 — Jairus Byrd · No. 15 — Jeff Maehl · No. 14 — Walter Thurmond III · No. 13 — Bo Nix · No. 12 — Penei Sewell · No. 11 — DeForest Buckner · No. 10 — Joey Harrington · No. 9 — Dennis Dixon Today, let's continue with No. 8 —Jonathan Stewart Player Overview At a time when defensive recruits dominated the headlines for Oregon, Jonathan Stewart was the crown jewel of the offense. The Ducks landed him after a strenuous recruiting battle with other college football juggernauts, and he gave them serious return on investment. With multiple First-Team All-American selections in his three year run in Eugene, Stewart is one of the most decorated players in Ducks history. Jonathan Stewart's Career Stats 516 rushes, 2,891 yards, 31 TD Jonathan Stewart's Single Best Season 2007 — 13 Games, 280 rushes, 1,722 yards, 11 TD The star running back showed drastic improvement in each of his three seasons at Oregon, but the 2007 campaign was his magnum opus. He posted a collegiate career high in every major rushing and receiving statistic, while also earning First-Team All-American honors. To cap off the historic season, Stewart helped the Ducks win the Sun Bowl to complete one of the most impressive single seasons for any Duck in history. Jonathan Stewart's Historical Records Jonathan Stewart NFL Draft The 2007 season thrust Stewart into the national spotlight, which helped him secure an incredible draft slot as the Carolina Panthers selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Jonathan Stewart's NFL Success Stewart turned out to be a solid NFL player, but he never reached the heights he did with the Ducks. His career was plagued by injuries, he only eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark once. Jonathan Stewart's Lasting Legacy Besides a few blips on the radar last century, Oregon never had many elite running backs before Stewart. However, since his departure from the program, the team finds another star halfback seemingly every season. Stewart will forever be remembered as one of the key contributors in turning the Ducks into a prime destination for offensive stars as well. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.


Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Arch Manning receives comparison to legendary Texas quarterback
Arch Manning will enter his first season as the Texas Longhorns' starting quarterback with high expectations, even though he's only started two games in his young career. Mack Brown, a former head coach at Texas and North Carolina, made another wild comparison to Manning, likening him to legendary Longhorns quarterback Vince Young. "He also seems like he listens. He's very humble," Brown said in a recent appearance on "The Stampede." "He said too much has been written about me, more than I've accomplished. I mean, he is kind of self-deprecating. But I like it. He's a whole lot like Vince at the same age." Young didn't need to throw too much in his sophomore season as the team rode the back of Cedric Benson in the backfield. It was his junior season in which he broke out, won the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Award and led the Longhorns to a stunning national championship victory over USC. He had 3,036 passing yards and 26 touchdown passes that season. Brown also liked how Manning conducted himself during his SEC Media Days appearance last week and how he avoided questions about what other coaches had said about him. Manning is more polished with the media than most – and he's had a lot of role models to look up to. He's the son of Cooper Manning, who was a high school football great in his own right, and the nephew of Super Bowl champions Peyton and Eli Manning. He's also the grandson of Archie Manning. The lineage is there, but soon it will be time to shut up and play football. He had 939 passing yards and nine touchdown passes last season. However, his first task as a starter will be to go up against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30.


USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Alabama football 2025 season preview, predictions: Justin Jefferson
After emerging with a breakout campaign a year ago, inside linebacker Justin Jefferson is back for one final season with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2025. Returning for year three at Alabama, Jefferson originally entered this past offseason thought to be out of eligibility, but now gets one more season due to having begun his collegiate career in junior college. With this return, Jefferson now enters the 2025 season expected to play a major role for the Crimson Tide at inside linebacker, potentially as a starter, while also changing jersey numbers from No. 15 to No. 10. A player who could be key toward Alabama's success defensively in 2025, here is a look at everything you need to know about linebacker Justin Jefferson entering this season. Justin Jefferson player information Justin Jefferson career stats A player who originally began his collegiate career in junior college, Jefferson will be entering his third season at the FBS level in 2025. With the last two coming at Alabama, Jefferson has appeared in a combined 26 games with the Crimson Tide in which he has compiled 64 tackles, 6.5 TFL, two sacks, one PD, and two forced fumbles. Justin Jefferson 2024 stats As mentioned previously, Jefferson's 2024 season at Alabama was a breakout campaign for the inside linebacker in which he appeared in 12 games for the Crimson Tide, three of which he started. In all, Jefferson amassed 60 tackles with 6.5 TFL, two sacks, one PD, and one forced fumble. Justin Jefferson recruiting ranking According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Jefferson was unranked as a prospect nationally in the 2021 class, coming out of Bartlett High School in Tennessee. After spending two seasons in junior college, Jefferson then came to Alabama as a member of the Crimson Tide's 2023 class, rated as the nation's No. 2 overall JUCO prospect, as well as the No. 1 linebacker nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. A four-star prospect, Jefferson attended Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, and committed to Alabama in June 2022. Justin Jefferson 2025 season outlook Coming off a breakout 2024 season, Jefferson is likely to be a key member of Alabama's defensive unit in 2025. As to what potential role that comes in, Jefferson began last season as a rotational linebacker behind the duo of Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell, but still saw a significant amount of action. With Lawson returning also, Jefferson is now arguably the favorite to takeover as the second starter at inside linebacker for the Crimson Tide, but will have to win the job over others such as Colorado transfer Nikhai Hill-Green. Overall, expect yet another career-year for Jefferson this fall, and for the redshirt senior to start for the Crimson Tide at inside linebacker. Justin Jefferson 2025 season prediction Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.