The Auburn Tigers are riding high after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 7. However, just days later, Auburn head coach Alex Gorsh announced the difficult decision to part ways with one of their most talented players on defense.
Star linebacker Xavier Atkins had a big breakout season in his second season with the Tigers, finishing first in the SEC with nine sacks and 17 tackles for loss, earning him first-team All-SEC honors a season ago.
Atkins looks set to have a similar impact this year. Through Auburn’s first five games of the season, Atkins is tied for the team lead in sacks and is the team’s second-leading tackler.
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Prior to the team’s game against Georgia on Saturday, Gorsh announced that Atkins would be unavailable for the game, choosing not to elaborate at the time on the reason for Atkins’ absence. Unfortunately, the situation appears to have escalated to the point where Auburn and Atkins parted ways.
According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Auburn decided to remove Atkins from the program.
It’s unclear why Atkins appears to have fallen out of favor with Gorsh and the rest of the Auburn program. Golesh did address Atkins’ absence from Week 7 on Monday, explaining that the team is “continuing to address” the situation.
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Regardless of why Atkins was fired from the Auburn football team, it’s a big loss for a team looking to continue its newfound momentum after defeating Georgia.
Auburn will move forward without Atkins and prepare for another tough test in Week 8 as they return home to face the No. 18 LSU Tigers on Saturday, October 24.