Atkins Promises to Return

(NOTE: Full story will be online at Macon.com later this evening.)

Analysts may have him pegged as a first-round draft pick, but Georgia defensive tackle Geno Atkins said he never considered leaving Athens after his junior season.

Atkins said Tuesday he had made up his mind he would return to Georgia for his senior season regardless of his potential NFL draft stock.

"I'll be coming back for another year, so my mind's not on the draft or anything like that," Atkins said. "It's set. I'm definitely coming back. My mom wants me to come back, and I want to come back and leave UGA with a degree."

Atkins said his mother wants him to walk her across the field on senior day next season, and that's a promise he plans to deliver.

He also wants to complete his housing degree, he said, despite a potentially lucrative future in the NFL.

"I already had my mind made up that I was coming back. There was no real thinking about the possibility. I already knew I was coming back for another year."