Film for Tyler Atkinson shows why he's the No. 1 linebacker in the country

Tyler Atkinson is the nation's number one linebacker, and he could be a Duck very, very soon. After a lengthy recruiting process, Atkinson will come to his decision July 15.

His final four consists of Oregon, Georgia, Texas, and Clemson. All four schools have established themselves as places that can acquire and develop top defensive talents into excellent players on Sundays.

Atkinson will commit live on ESPN's Pat McAfee Show. To say he would be a massive get for the Ducks is a serious understatement.

Atkinson is a different caliber of athlete compared to what the Ducks have had in recent memory. Yes, Jeffrey Bassa was great, as is Bryce Boettcher, and the likes of Devon Jackson, Kamar Mothudi, Jerry Mixon, Brayden Platt, and Dylan Williams all have sky-high potential. But Atkinson is simply different. The tape speaks for itself.

He possesses natural speed and instincts that are incredibly rare, an ability to get downhill at a screaming speed, with an absolutely thumping, punishing finish at the point of contact. His tape shows that he is great in blitz packages, quarterback spy situations, and in true run fits. His ability to get lateral and downhill against wide-zone run concepts could immediately make up for the deficienes Oregon has had in recent years against outside and wide zone schemes.

Oregon has collected many five stars under coach Dan Lanning, but this one feels different. In my opinion, he is the same caliber of a recruit as Dakorien Moore was last cycle. His skillset would immediately make him a starter and high-impact guy on the defense, with potential to be as good of a true-freshman as Kayvon Thibodeaux was.

Oregon has had many linebacker greats, such as Kiko Alonso, Troy Dye, Tom Graham, and Bruce Beekley. Should Atkinson commit and sign to Oregon, he would be a very strong candidate to end up as an all-time Duck, as I believe he would be one of, if not the best players to join the team from the high school ranks in the Lanning era.

Lanning, defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, and LB coach Brian Michalowski have done a great job recruiting Atkinson, propsoing an "ATKNup" package to him, and sharing the same notion that he could be in rarified air when it comes to the Oregon linebacker lineage.

Atkinson told Hayes Fawcett for Rivals/On3 Sports: "The Ducks have presented me with a lot of 'first to do it' opportunities. Coach Lanning and the staff have believed in 'ATKNup' since day one. The legendary opportunities there make Eugene a great fit for me."

It should be noted that Rivals/On3 Sports' Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong logged expert predictions for Atkinson to commit to Texas. As Oregon fans know all too well, these predictions are often inaccurate, UNLESS it is right before a given players commitment date. Usually they will make a prediction very far from the date, and then change it right before in order to preserve the official accuracy of their reports.

So, Atkinson is likely to be a Longhorn, but should he commit to Lanning and the Ducks, he would be one of, if not the biggest recruiting win of the Lanning era. He is a different type of linebacker than perhaps Oregon has ever seen.