DALLAS (FWAA) – Linebacker Xavier Atkins led Auburn’s defense with a career-high 13 tackles Saturday, including a pair of sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss as the Tigers came from behind to take a 33-24 win at Arkansas. For his play leading the Tigers in tackles for a fifth straight SEC game, Atkins earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for the weekend of Oct. 25 by the Football Writers Association of America.
Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. This is the first time since 2006 for an Auburn player to earn the weekly award and third time overall.
The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2025 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 8 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list, including Atkins this week, each week’s honored player is added at that time.
Atkins, a 6-0, 210-pound sophomore from Houston, had a command performance against Arkansas as the Tigers’ defense held firm in the second half to allow the comeback. Atkins’ 13 tackles were the most by an Auburn player in just over three seasons since Owen Pappoe had 16 against Ole Miss on Oct. 15, 2022.
Auburn’s 17-0 scoring margin in the fourth quarter sealed the game at the end of a 23-3 rally in the second half. With Atkins leading the way, Auburn’s defense held the Hogs to only five first downs and 28 rushing yards in the second half.
It was a continuance of a torrid defensive streak for the inside linebacker in his first season at Auburn after playing his freshman season at LSU. Atkins leads the SEC with 13.0 TFL’s and is tied for second in the league with 61 tackles and 7.0 sacks. He has 4.0 sacks in the last two games.
In five SEC games, Atkins leads the league with 9.0 TFL (2.5 more than any other player) and ranks second in tackles (49) and third in sacks (5.0).
It is also Atkins’ second game with 4.0 tackles for loss this season, marking him as the first Tiger since 2005 (Stanley McClover) to have multiple games with 4.0+ TFL in a season. Two of the SEC’s four defensive performances with 4.0 TFL’s now belong to Atkins.
Auburn has not had a Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner. Its last finalist was defensive tackle Derrick Brown in 2019, with Nick Fairly (DT, 2010) and Carlos Rogers (CB, 2004) as other former finalists.
This is the third time an Auburn player has won the national defensive player of the week honor. The Tigers’ last weekly honoree was defensive end Quentin Groves on Oct. 14, 2006, following a 27-17 win over Florida. The other was defensive back Junior Rosegreen for his four-interception performance in a 34-10 win at Tennessee in 2004.
The Tigers host Kentucky on Saturday with a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff on the SEC Network.