One of the nation’s top recruits is set to return to Clemson.

Five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson (Grayson, GA) tells The Clemson Insider that he will attend the Elite Retreat on March 8. Atkinson said he plans to arrive on Friday and stay through the weekend.

After Ben Boulware was promoted to linebackers coach, one of his first stops was to see Atkinson. Head coach Dabo Swinney and safeties coach Mickey Conn, who was a longtime head coach at Grayson, traveled in with Boulware for that visit.

“The new linebacker coach is hungry,” Atkinson recently told TCI. “He is ready to work, and I like that.”

“Coach Conn is a Grayson legend, and we have a great relationship already,” Atkinson added. “It was really a great visit with them, and I am planning to get on campus again really soon.”

The 247 Composite ranks Atkinson as the top linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class. The service also ranks him No. 8 overall and No. 1 in the talent-rich state of Georgia. He currently has more than four dozen offers, with most every big-time Power-4 school having offered.