Harold Perkins Jr. (born September 10, 2004) is an American football outside linebacker for the LSU Tigers.
_(cropped).jpg) Perkins in 2023 | |
| LSU Tigers – No. 7 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Outside linebacker |
| Class | Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 10, 2004 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Cypress Park (Cypress, Texas) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early years and recruiting
editPerkins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina a year after his birth. Perkins’ mother, Bertha Walton, grandmother, and aunt attempted to gather the family elsewhere in New Orleans, but the storm was too much. They eventually climbed through two houses to seek refuge in the hallway of their neighbor’s home until Perkins' uncle evacuated the family in a 2004 Chevrolet Blazer. 17 members of the family would evacuate to Texas soon after.[1]
Perkins grew up in Cypress, Texas and played high school football and basketball at Cypress Park High School.[2] Perkins played linebacker and running back, earning first team All-Greater Houston as a utility player on offense. He was rated No. 4 nationally and No. 1 at the linebacker position in ESPN's rankings of the 2022 college football recruiting class.[3] He originally committed to Texas A&M, then decommitted, and ultimately signed with LSU. He was the top recruit in LSU's 2022 recruiting class.[4][5] Between 2009 and 2022, Perkins was one of at least 26 LSU football players who were displaced by Katrina during or before their freshman year in college. Others included Grant Delpit, Saahdiq Charles, and Leonard Fournette.[1]
LSU Tigers
edit2022
editPerkins won a starting spot at linebacker as a freshman in the fall of 2022.[6] In LSU's upset victory over Alabama, he registered seven pressures and was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.[7] After the game, LSU coach Brian Kelly said of Perkins: "He's a bit of a throwback, and a throwback in this sense, 'just tell me what to do. I don't need all the other things. And I'll figure it out as I go.'"[7] In week 10 against Arkansas, in a performance described as “dominating”, Perkins tied the LSU single-game record for quarterback sacks with four and forced two fumbles, including the game winner.[8][9] Following the Arkansas game, Perkins was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row as well as the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. Through the first ten games of the 2022 season, Perkins totaled 52 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception.[10] At the end of the season, he was named to Pro Football Focus's PFF True Freshman All-America team.[11] Perkins will wear No. 4 for LSU in the upcoming 2023 college football season.
2024
editOn September 22, 2024, it was announced that Perkins had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and would miss the remainder of the season.[12]
College statistics
edit| Season | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | |
| LSU Tigers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 14 | 8 | 39 | 33 | 72 | 13.0 | 7.5 | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 32 | 75 | 13.0 | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 31 | 31 | 87 | 77 | 164 | 28.0 | 13.0 | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
References
edit- ^ a b Vann, Leah. "2023 marks the final recruiting class with 'Katrina kids.' This is the story of their journey home". The Advocate. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ "#10 Harold Perkins". Louisiana State University. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "ESPN 300". ESPN. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Koki Riley (February 8, 2022). "LB Harold Perkins, LSU's latest five-star signee". Lafayette Daily Advertiser. pp. B1, BW – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Patrick Magee (February 2, 2022). "Who is Harold Perkins? See why the new LSU linebacker is considered the nation's best". The Advocate.
- ^ "Inside the rise of LSU freshman Harold Perkins, an 'anomaly' just getting started". NOLA.com. November 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Koki Riley (November 7, 2022). "Brian Kelly explains why LSU football freshman phenom Harold Perkins is 'a throwback'". Lafayette Daily Advertiser.
- ^ Harold Perkins Devastated Arkansas’ Offense. The Rest of the Story is Harder to Digest https://www.bestofarkansassports.com/arkansas-football-offensive-clunker-vs-lsu/
- ^ Jeremy Willis (November 12, 2022). "LSU Tigers freshman Harold Perkins got sick then dominated the Arkansas Razorbacks". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Harold Perkins". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "Haulcy Named PFF True Freshman All-America". Pro Football Focus. November 29, 2022.
- ^ "LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.'s season is ended by knee injury, coach confirms". apnews.com=en. Retrieved September 28, 2024.