Auburn is moving on from All-American linebacker Xavier Atkins, who was suspended for Saturday's win over Georgia and has now been dismissed from the program, according to 247Sports. Tigers coach Alex Golesh said Monday the defender's status at Auburn was undetermined and that his conversations with Atkins would remain in-house. Atkins was away from the team last week during prep for Georgia and did not travel to Athens.
"And really that'll be the only piece of it that I'll be addressing," Golesh said before Georgia. "But he won't be with us this week for the game on Saturday, won't be available, and then we'll revisit early next week when we meet again here." Atkins, a junior with another year of eligibility, wrote on social media early Tuesday that he intends to enter the transfer portal at the end of the semester. The 2026-27 portal cycle opens Jan. 4, 2027, and will be open for 10 days.
"I have nothing but respect for Auburn University and will continue to support my teammates this season," Atkins wrote. "My focus is on my health, my family, and on finishing up the academic semester strong, and I'll be entering the transfer portal at the appropriate time." The former LSU transfer, now in his second season with the Tigers, posted 37 tackles and three sacks in five starts this fall. Last season as the star on DJ Durkin's defense, Atkins collected 84 tackles, leading the SEC with 17 stops behind the line of scrimmage and nine sacks.
Auburn went all-in on retaining its top defender this offseason, pairing Atkins with fellow linebacker Elijah Melendez in the middle. De'Marcus Riddick, who's back from a shoulder injury suffered last season, is expected to be the next man up at linebacker following Atkins' dismissal. "Demarcus, we've worked really hard as he's come back from the offseason stuff to get him back really, really confident," Golesh said.
"And this entire building are all fans of Demarcus Riddick, and we're slowly but surely seeing him get better and better. And the better is truly more confident coming back. And what he had to go through to even get back is a credit to him and his mental toughness and just him gaining the confidence back.
"But certainly you would imagine his role will continue to increase, which was the plan going in all along in terms of hopefully getting the best version of him." Given Atkins' talent level, he should be one of the top available defenders in the portal this cycle, as long as he addresses off-the-field issues and meets requirements at his next stop.
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