Xavier Atkins keeps stacking up the hardware, and Auburn’s star linebacker just added another major line to the résumé.
On Tuesday, the AP named Atkins a preseason All-American, placing him on the first-team defense and making him the only Auburn player to earn the honor this season. It comes on the heels of a breakout year that already had him collecting multiple second-team All-America nods at the end of last season, along with a spot on the preseason All-SEC first team.
Atkins’ rise has been fast and loud. By the end of last season, he had become Auburn’s first All-American linebacker since Karlos Dansby in 2003. He also became the first Tiger recognized as an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation since Derrick Brown in 2019.
After starting his career at LSU, Atkins transferred to Auburn ahead of the 2025 campaign and immediately looked like a difference-maker. In his first season as a regular contributor, he put up 84 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks.
That production was enough to lead the SEC in tackles for loss, and it made him one of the most disruptive defenders in the league all season long. Now, Atkins returns to Auburn in 2026 as one of the country’s top players and a central piece of DJ Durkin’s defense.
Auburn had one more name on the AP All-America team, though not from its current roster. Former Tiger Cam Coleman was selected at wide receiver after beginning his career on the Plains and playing two seasons under Hugh Freeze before transferring to Texas this offseason.
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DaShawn Womack is now in line to start at BUCK in Faulks place, and Auburn is expected to spread the snaps around among several other players as it reshapes that edge group. There is still some hope Faulk could work his way back late in the year, but for now the Tigers have to plan as if one of their more important front-seven pieces is unavailable when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Newton Has Auburn Fans Debating His Place In The Program
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Even so, the sight of the former Auburn star wearing another schools colors got people talking about what his place should be around Auburn going forward. For all the debate it stirred, the bigger takeaway may be simpler: Newton still carries real weight in college football circles, and Auburn could benefit from finding a more formal way to use that presence around its athletics program. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns Defense Is Already Facing Heat After Camp Scrimmage
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The tone around the unit has been firm, and the players have taken notice of the demanding coaching that comes with it. Auburn knows the early camp work is about more than just sorting out depth - it is also about building habits that hold up once the season starts, and the defenses uneven showing has only raised the urgency around getting those details right. [Read more 🡒]