This story will be updated.
AUBURN — Xavier Atkins, the Auburn football linebacker who posted an All-American campaign in first season on the Plains, won't play against No. 1 Georgia this weekend, head coach Alex Golesh announced Monday, Oct. 12.
Atkins entered this season with two preseason All-America nods and four All-SEC honors. In five games, he posted 37 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks, as well as 3 quarterback hurries and an interception.
After spending his freshman season with LSU, playing just 34 snaps, Atkins transferred to Auburn the following offseason and posted a team-leading 712 snaps in 2025. He also led the Tigers in tackles (84), tackles for loss (17) and sacks (9). He led the SEC in tackles for loss and his sack total was also a top-three mark in the conference.
Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was widely credited for Atkins joining the program, having recruited him while at Texas A&M.
"This is the player that I always envisioned him being and thought he could be," Durkin said of Atkins in September 2025. "This is kind of what we were hoping we were going to get, and he's doing a heck of a job."
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at acole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @colereporter.To support Adam's work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football LB Xavier Atkins won't play against Georgia