Knowing who to target on the recruiting trail can be one of the most difficult decisions for a college football head coach to make. There are so many elite recruits out there that a coach may be interested in, but they need to balance their time and decide where they should devote their resources.
For Kirby Smart and Georgia, there always is a plethora of talent from the Peach State, so that makes their life a lot easier on the recruiting trail. So when it comes to the top players from the state of Georgia, it would be strange for UGA to not pursue them.
The No. 1 player from Georgia in the 2026 class is linebacker Tyler Atkinson. According to the 247Sports composite rankings, he is the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class as well as the No. 9 overall player in the country.
Georgia has prioritized Atkinson his entire recruitment and have hosted him more times than anyone can count, but his recruitment is really beginning to ramp up as more programs are joining Georgia in their heavy pursuit. One program that has been especially coming on is Clemson, and the Tigers are the first school to get an official visit scheduled with Atkinson, according to On3's Pete Nakos.
Clemson is becoming a serious threat to steal Tyler Atkinson from Georgia
Before this report, Atkinson was yet to schedule any official visits. That fact was quite strange since official visit season begins in June, but Atkinson appears to want to take things a little slow.
Even though Atkinson was yet to schedule his official visits, there was no reason for Georgia to be concerned because recruiting experts believed Georgia was the clear leader in his recruitment. However, the fact that Atkinson scheduled his first official visit with Clemson paints a completely different picture.
It would be shocking if Atkinson doesn't end up officially visiting Georgia as well, and it's likely just a matter of time until that announcement is made. But for now, Clemson is the only team that is bringing Atkinson in on an official visit which is quite concerning for Georgia's chances.