Auburn LB Xavier Atkins adds another preseason nod to his list

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For any Auburn football player wearing the No. 17, the preseason honors keep rolling in. Like Byrum Brown, linebacker Xavier Atkins has received a lot of attention heading into the 2026 college football season. On Friday, Atkins was named to the Bednarik Award preseason watchlist.

The Bednarik Award goes to the best defensive player in college football each year after the season. That is an award that has been elusive to the Auburn football program, as there has never been a player at Auburn who has won the award.

Last season, Atkins was named a semifinalist for the award after his stellar 2025. In his first season at Auburn, Atkins had 84 total tackles, nine sacks, and an SEC-leading 17 tackles for loss. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez won the award in 2025.

Atkins is the key to the Tigers’ defense playing to the level they did for the majority of the 2025 season. He put the college football world on notice in the Tigers' 16-10 loss to Texas A&M on September 27th.

In that game, he had 10 total tackles with a sack and a forced fumble. He also had an interception return of 73 yards that would help set up an Auburn score. He had a pair of two-sack games, with those occurring against Missouri and Arkansas. Last week, Atkins was also named to the AP All-American team.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn LB Xavier Atkins adds another preseason nod to his list

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