It’s become a talking point every week. How will LSU deploy its star linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag]?
Perkins is one of the best athletes in the SEC, which gives LSU versatility with its alignments. That’s typically a positive, but LSU shifting Perkins around has, at times, hindered Perkins’ performance along with that of the defense as a whole.
In Week 3’s win over South Carolina, Perkins played strong side linebacker, bumping over from the will spot he played to start the year.
Head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] thought Perkins looked comfortable, saying progress was made at first glance.
The move allowed Perkins to get after the quarterback more. According to PFF, he posted the sixth-best pass rush grade among SEC linebackers in Week 3 and notched two pressures. Perkins made three stops, too.
Perkins has a few more steps to go before he reaches the all-conference expectations he entered the year with. LSU is hoping Perkins can affect all facets of the game on first through third down.
Brian Kelly said Harold Perkins felt more comfortable playing strongside linebacker.
"First glance, I think we walked away from it feeling like, 'Hey, we made some progress here.'"
— Wilson Alexander (@whalexander_) September 16, 2024
In training camp, Perkins praised LSU defensive coordinator [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] for unlocking the defense’s ability to play fast by simplifying some things. Perkins settling in a strong side linebacker should allow for that speed to be applied to games.
Kelly said this is different than what LSU asked Perkins to do on the strong side last year. In 2023, Perkins was an edge player but now he is being asked to fit more in the box.
Perkins continues to show flashes. The next step is finding a new level of consistency.
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