Clemson football makes the final cut for 5-star LB Tyler Atkinson

The top target on Clemson football's 2026 recruiting board has trimmed his list.

Following official visit season, Tyler Atkinson has released his top four and, to no one's surprise, his list includes each of the programs he visited in June.

Atkinson visited Clemson followed by Oregon, Georgia, and Texas and on Wednesday afternoon, he released his top four which included each of those programs, cutting the likes of Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Miami, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC off his list for good.

While Ohio State was really the only non-visited program on his list of potential suitors, it does seem like Atkinson is drawing even nearer to a commitment. He is down to four schools, has visited each of them, and now has an idea of what to expect from all four if he were to commit to them.

As for Clemson, Atkinson loved the fact that the coaching staff drew up some defensive packages around him and pitched them to him on the visit. That was a great recruiting tactic.

Will it be enough, however? It's hard to say.

Georgia is the home-state program and it's seemingly where all Peach State prospects want to go since Kirby Smart built it back into a powerhouse. Texas was his last visit and that's almost always an advantage. And Oregon is one of the top programs in the country under Dan Lanning and the facilities in Eugene set it apart.

The Tigers are hoping to make a splash here and land the five-star from Georgia, but it might require another unofficial visit in the fall -- if he even remains uncommitted that long.

Atkinson is the No. 1 linebacker and No. 9 overall prospect in the 2026 class.