Roquan Smith, Jalon Walker assist Georgia in pursuit of linebacker Tyler Atkinson

Oregon’s Dan Lanning has a relationship that stretches back almost five years to his Georgia football defensive coordinator days.

Auburn always is looming in this recruitment. Tennessee is another team to watch, and it seems like the entire “X” platform and a lot of message boards have him going to Ohio State.

That doesn’t mean the Georgia football program is going anywhere. Atkinson probably is going to see the Bulldogs 20-plus times over the course of his recruitment.

Atkinson likely will release some official visits sooner rather than later, but there might be some suspense to that news drop. It doesn’t sound like there will be a public relisting of his top schools in tandem with that.

“It’s just been a blessing to be here for my senior year and to be healthy and going, ready for next year,” he said. “It has been a blessing to be in the position I am right now and have decisions, big decisions, coming up soon. I’m just thankful for where I’m at right now.”

None of that has stopped the Bulldogs from making Atkinson feel like what he is: A major-priority national recruit and a 5-star among 5-stars.

While Atkinson is known for tracking down the ball, Georgia is getting a boost from some heavy hitters in a relentless pursuit of Atkinson.

That would be Roquan Smith and Jalon Walker.

Not only does UGA use those two as proof of concept in their development, but those two have taken the time to speak to Atkinson recently about the Dogs.

“I got to talk to Roquan Smith the other day,” Atkinson said. “To hear from him and the impact he had at Georgia, it has just been great. More stuff from Georgia keeps coming along.”

What did Smith tell Atkinson? He wanted to keep that private.

“We just had a great conversation,” Atkinson said with a smile. “Just me and him. We just had a great conversation.”

Walker also visited with Atkinson recently. A 2025 first-round draft pick of the Falcons, Walker has an endorsement deal with Adidas. Atkinson also has a high school NIL deal with Adidas. He’s one of a select few prep players chosen for that honor.

Those two got to chat at an Adidas event this spring with another Adidas spokesman, All-Pro Dallas LB Micah Parsons.

“The video of him and Micah Parsons,” Atkinson said. “They were talking about No. 11, because he wears No. 11 at Georgia and Micah Parsons wore No. 11 at Penn State.”

Those two were both talking about the need for a new No. 11 at both of their former schools. The number already carries great significance at Penn State.

It seems like Walker has had ample time to get his point across for a new No. 11 at Georgia.

“Just the relationship over there, it is just great,” Atkinson said of Georgia and Walker. “J-Walk and I talk. We’ve got a good relationship. When we talk, we talk about ball and we talk about regular stuff. He’s just a great guy overall.”

Tyler Atkinson: What’s new with Georgia football?

There’s no team that Atkinson has been exposed to more than Georgia. Well over a year ago, he was listing defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann as the major coaching relationship in his process. He said the relationship with Schumann “gets better and better every time we talk.”

That wasn’t his only strong thought about the Georgia defensive coordinator who has seen three Butkus Award winners and developed three first-round linebackers since he arrived in Athens in 2016.

“Coach Schu,” he said as he started a thought about Georgia. “Our relationship is a great relationship. Knowing him since eighth grade and the relationship that we’ve established.”

What’s the plan that Schumann and Kirby Smart have for him? It sounds like it will incorporate some of the roles that Walker manned for the Georgia defense.

“They’ve got me being all over the field,” Atkinson said. “When it comes to being that chess-piece linebacker. Rushing the quarterback. Playing the run. Being in the pass drops. They’ve got me being that chess-piece linebacker.”

The national chase for Tyler Atkinson

Few prospects in America work harder than Atkinson. There will be a sure NIL piece, but he’s the one guy in this class who likely will work even harder once he gets paid big to play college football.

That work ethic will make the group around him better. Atkinson is vastly talented and historically productive, but he’s also shown a history of elevating the players around him.

Atkinson already handles himself like a pro. He’s in bed at 10 every night. He has to get at least nine hours of sleep.

Atkinson mentioned which schools have really dialed things in with him of late.

“I’d say a lot of them,” he said. “I’d say all of them have been putting a lot of effort into it. Especially Clemson. They’ve been putting a lot. Georgia. Et cetera. Et cetera. Different schools. So it has been a lot of schools that have been doing a lot of effort. All top schools. My whole top 10. They’ve been doing it the way they are supposed to by recruiting me.”

He has a ballpark timeline for his commitment decision.

“Definitely in the summer,” he said. “Definitely looking into the summer. I don’t have a specific date of what I’m looking for. But when I feel like that time is right, that’s when I will start publishing stuff, going out with my decision.”

What is he looking for? Has that changed?

“It is definitely going to be the relationship piece,” Atkinson said. “Definitely going to be the scheme. It is just going to be when I step on campus, it just feels like the right fit, and this is where I want to go. So that’s where it is at right now. There are more things that come to it, but those are the main things.”

He described the national chase for his signature.

“All my top schools,” he said. “It is very tight. Every school is 50/50. There is not one school higher than the other. Every school is 50/50. Because the relationship piece, it has been great. All of the schools I am looking at have the same plan. So it is very good.”