Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins earned a spot on the 2026 Walter Camp first team All-America list Tuesday morning, giving the Tigers a notable preseason honor heading into the year.
Atkins was one of 21 players from the SEC included on the nation’s oldest college football All-America team. He was joined at linebacker on the first team by Sammy Brown of Clemson and Rasheem Biles of Texas.
The recognition comes after a breakout first season as a contributor in college football. Atkins piled up 84 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks last season, numbers that put him firmly on the national radar.
His production was especially loud inside the league. Thirteen of his tackles for loss came in SEC play, which led the conference, and both his tackle total and sack total ranked third in the SEC in 2025.
The Walter Camp first team defense also included Dylan Stewart of South Carolina, Colin Simmons of Texas, Tyrique Tucker of Indiana and Teitum Tuioti of Oregon on the defensive line, along with Kelley Jones of Mississippi State, Leonard Moore of Notre Dame, Brandon Finney, Jr. of Oregon and KJ Bolden of Georgia in the secondary. Palmer Williams of Baylor was named first team punter.
On offense, the first team featured wide receivers Malachi Toney of Miami and Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State, tight end Trey’Dez Green of LSU, quarterback Arch Manning of Texas, running backs Kewan Lacy of Ole Miss and Ahmad Hardy of Missouri, and placekicker Tate Sandell of Oklahoma.
The second team offense included Cam Coleman of Texas and KJ Duff of Rutgers at wide receiver, Jamari Johnson of Oregon at tight end, and Julian Sayin of Ohio State at quarterback. On defense, the second team featured A’Mauri Washington of Oregon, Anthony Smith of Minnesota, David Stone of Oklahoma and John Henry Daley of Michigan on the line, with Rolijah Hardy of Indiana, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asu of Notre Dame and Isaiah Jones of Indiana at linebacker.
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For Auburn fans, the appeal is easy to understand: Johnson has kept finding ways to stay relevant at the next level, whether it was in brief NBA minutes or longer stretches in Long Island. The Nets are still giving him runway, too, with Johnson set to take part in Brooklyns summer-league team events next month. What he can do with that opportunity will matter, because these kinds of roster spots are often less about arrival than about proving there is still another step to take. [Read more 🡒]