The Auburn Tigers are riding high after a monumental win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 7. However, just days later, Auburn head coach Alex Golesh announced the tough decision to part ways with one of their most talented players on the defensive side of the ball. Star linebacker Xavier Atkins broke out in a major way in his sophomore season for the Tigers, recording nine sacks and an SEC-leading 17 tackles for loss, which earned him First Team All-SEC honors just a season ago.
Atkins was seemingly on the path to make a similar kind of impact this year. Through the first five games of the season for Auburn, Atkins was tied to the team lead in sacks and ranked as their second leading tackler. More news: Texas’ Steve Sarkisian Delivers Stern Message to Arch Manning Prior to the team's matchup against Georgia on Saturday, Golesh announced that Atkins would not be available for the game, opting at the time not to go into detail about why Atkins would be missing the game.
Unfortunately, it seems like this situation has escalated to the point of Auburn and Atkins going their separate ways. According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Auburn has decided to dismiss Atkins from the program. It still remains unclear why Atkins seems to have fallen out of the good graces of Golesh and the rest of the Auburn program.
Golesh did somewhat address Atkins' absence from their Week 7 game on Monday, explaining that the team was "continuing to work through" the situation. More news: Mike Norvell Takes Drastic Action After Florida State’s Loss to Miami Regardless of why Atkins has been dismissed from the Auburn football program, it profiles to be a significant loss for a team that is looking to carry over their newfound momentum after the win over Georgia. Auburn will move forward without Atkins and prepare for another tough test in Week 8, as they are set to return home to face the No. 18 ranked LSU Tigers on Saturday, October 24.
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