Tag: Harold Perkins

LSU four-star linebacker transferring to old SEC West rival

LSU is losing a talented linebacker to an old SEC west rival

An LSU linebacker is transferring to one of the Tigers’ longtime rivals. [autotag]Xavier Atkins[/autotag] announced his commitment to Auburn on Tuesday, joining Hugh Freeze’s group after spending one year at LSU.

Atkins was a four-star linebacker in the class of 2024. The On3 Industry Rankings slotted Atkins as the No. 309 ranked overall prospect, the No. 24 linebacker, and the No. 50 recruit in Texas. Atkins was originally from Louisiana.

Atkins hitting the portal was not a surprise. With [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] and [autotag]Dahvon Keys[/autotag] both seeing significant playing time in 2024, LSU didn’t offer much of an opportunity at linebacker.

LSU’s depth takes a hit with Atkins departure, and it’s not great when a young blue-chip recruit goes to an SEC rival, but the Tigers like where they sit at the position.

There’s also a chance LSU returns star linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], who continues to recover from a knee injury suffered in the win over UCLA.

Atkins joins an Auburn transfer class that is among the best in the SEC. So far, the Tigers have added ten players from the portal.

Brian Kelly discusses the possibility of Harold Perkins 2025 return

Will LSU LB Harold Perkins return in 2025?

LSU linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] was ruled out for the year after tearing his ACL vs. UCLA. Perkins was expected to be a key contributor on LSU’s defense, but the Tigers were forced to find a new plan.

Perkins, a junior, could elect to turn pro following the 2024 season. Despite the injury, an NFL team would take a bet on his talent.

LSU head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] met with the media on Monday and said Perkins is yet to make a final choice about his future.

Kelly said trainer Owen Stanley offered positive reports on Perkins’ recovery.

“He’s been in the building quite a bit, you know, now that he’s passed the early stages of the repair. Now it’s about hard work. I don’t know that he’s made that final decision,” Kelly said.

“I know he’s weighing the options, and clearly we would love to have him back, but we know that these decisions are not easy. We’ll support him in whatever he decides and provide him all the resources necessary to make the best decision for him and his family.”

LSU has struggled to define a role for Perkins after his breakout campaign in 2022, but his return would be welcome. LSU is still looking to build depth on defense as it rebuilds the unit.

LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker likes to play aggressive defense and Perkins fits that mold.

Harold Perkins injury complicates his 2025 NFL Draft projection

LSU linebacker Harold Perkins is out for the season, and that makes evaluating his 2025 NFL Draft stock a lot tougher

Another touted 2025 NFL Draft prospect is now out for the season due to an unfortunate injury. After seeing East Carolina CB Shavon Revel and Penn State safety Kevin Winston each sidelined with long-term injuries, now standout LSU linebacker Harold Perkins is out.

Perkins tore his ACL in LSU’s win over UCLA, putting an end to the positional experimentation that wasn’t going smoothly for the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder. And that clouds how NFL teams will view Perkins, who is widely expected to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.

LSU moved Perkins from an outside backer role into the middle of the defense, hoping to use his speed and range in a more dynamic MLB role. Picture the way the Browns deploy Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah or the way Foye Oluokun plays for the Jaguars (and the Falcons before that); speed-based attack dogs in the box who can also slide out and cover TEs over the slot.

That was a change for Perkins, who had been more of a pass-rushing outside backer in his prior seasons at LSU. Almost certainly too small and lightweight to play that role in the NFL, the move inside and to more traditional off-ball status was a move that should have really augmented his draft stock.

Except Perkins struggled in the middle. He missed too many tackles but also too many tackling opportunities. Block avoidance and attack angles were both very rudimentary works in progress. There were small signs of progress before his injury against the Bruins, but Perkins was a player who sorely needed reps and experience to help prepare him for his likely role at the next level.

Now that development is arrested by an injury that could keep the energetic Perkins out into training camp for whichever NFL team drafts him. Already a difficult prospect to project, Perkins becomes even harder to figure out where or when he goes in the 2025 NFL Draft thanks to the knee injury.

 

SEC Network features Oklahoma in X-Men intro to 2024 season

The SEC Network released an X-Men styled animated intro to the 2024 season and an Oklahoma Sooners star was prominently featured.

The SEC is embarking on a new adventure in 2024, welcoming the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns to the conference. With the season kicking off, Oklahoma and Texas were featured in a video released by the SEC Network’s social media account on X formerly known as Twitter.

In a play on the 1990s animated “X-Men The Animated Series”, the SEC featured a number of teams, including the Red River Rivals.

[autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and Quinn Ewers can be seen flying the X-Wing, the jet that had stealth properties into SEC country. The video featured a number of players as X-Men.

  • Jalen Milroe, Alabama, as Cyclops.
  • Carson Beck, Georgia, as Storm.
  • Harold Perkins, LSU, as Wolverine.
  • Quinn Ewers, Texas, as Jubilee.
  • Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, as Gambit.
  • Luther Burden, Missouri, as Nightcrawler.
  • James Pearce, Tennessee, as Magneto.
  • Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma, as The Beast.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1829584490143809902

Danny Stutsman as The Beast is fitting, considering he matches a physical play style with an intelligence garnered from years of experience. The preseason All-SEC and All-American selection will lead the Oklahoma Sooners defense into the SEC as they hope to make a run at a conference title in year one in the league.

The Sooners open year one in the SEC Friday night at 6 p.m. CT against the Temple Owls. Their first SEC game comes in Norman on September 21.

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LSU’s Will Campbell, Harold Perkins Jr. named top 25 players in college football by CBS Sports

Will Campbell was the No. 6 player on the list and Harold Perkins Jr. was the No. 16 player on the list.

CBS Sports recently ranked the Top 25 players in college football for the 2024 season and two Tigers have made the list, with one of them inside the top 10.

The two Tigers who have made the cut for [autotag]CBS Sports[/autotag] are [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag]. Campbell is listed as the top offensive tackle prospect in next season’s NFL draft. He has started two seasons in a row and has earned the coveted No. 7 patch on his uniform.

Perkins burst onto the scene as a sack machine as a freshman in Baton Rouge. With a new defensive coordinator, I believe his production will tick back up in 2024.

Here is what they had to say about Campbell,

“The top offensive tackle in the country, Campbell has excellent technique as a pass protector and does a nice job getting to the proper spot in protection with square shoulders. Campbell is generally a two-hand puncher, which can lead to problems if done exclusively, but generally stones his opponents and has excellent feet to recover if he slightly gets beat. He has strong hands and grip strength and if he’s able to get them on defenders, it’s over.”

Here is what they had to say about Perkins,

”Perkins is one of the nation’s most dynamic players. LSU misused him most of last season and it cost the defensive staff their jobs. It was a wasted year playing in the box for somebody who should be wreaking havoc on the edge. This is a contract year for somebody who draws Micah Parsons comps.” – CBS

Campbell was the No. 6 player on the list and Perkins was the No. 16 player on the list.

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Blake Baker has a new motto for the LSU defense entering 2024

LSU’s new defensive coordinator wants a unit full of dogs, but not poodles.

It seems LSU’s new defensive coordinator has a disdain for a certain breed of dog. [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] has a new motto for the defense. He doesn’t want any poodles.

These days people like to say a certain player has “that dog in them” if they are a talented player. I guess that term does not apply when it comes to poodles.

For Baker, a poodle stands for lack of physicality or trying to show up your teammate. He is big on reading players body language and if your language is off, you are going to get pulled from the game. I guess in that sense, a hurt dog howls.

Baker makes his return to LSU as the defensive coordinator after serving in the same role at Missouri last season. He inherits a defense that had numerous issues with the secondary last fall but still has a great deal of talent. Also, [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] is one of the best players in the country, and I think this will be a breakout year for him.

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LSU LB Harold Perkins explains why he chose the Tigers over Texas A&M

LSU will take on Texas A&M in Kyle Field on October 26

SEC Media Days officially began on Monday, starting with LSU’s representatives led by head coach Brian Kelly, starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, left tackle Mason Taylor, and linebacker Harold Perkins Jr, who Aggie fans are well acquainted with after the Cypress, Texas native was previously committed to Texas A&M.

While the focus was on how LSU would forge on without Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and his elite wide receiver corps of Malk Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., who were all drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Harold Perkins might have stolen the show after several quotes regarding his ongoing connection with Texas A&M.

A brief member of the Aggies’ historically talented 2022 recruiting class, Perkins decommitted from the program before committing to LSU in February of 2022; his surprising decision is still talked about to this day, as former head coach Jimbo Fisher’s inability to hold onto elite linebacker talent became a continuous joke until current A&M sophomore LB Taurean York came on the scene.

During Monday’s Q&A, Perkins was asked by TexAgs’ Olin Buchanan about what led to his flip to the Tigers and if A&M “dropped the ball” during his recruitment under Fisher, leading to an unsurprising answer from the third-year vet:

“It was more from a development standoint” he stated. “LSU is always home, so that’s reall what that came to.”

Due to LSU’s history of producing NFL-level linebackers, Perkins made the right choice for his future at the time but stated that it was always a tough decision.

“It was a difficult decision. It was a moment that I feel I have no regrets on. It was a difficult decision.”

Texas A&M will take on LSU during the middle of the 2024 season on Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Tigers will head to Kyle Field.

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Where does LSU’s linebacker unit rank entering 2024 season?

LSU doesn’t have many positions on defense where it feels good about its two-deep, but linebacker is one of them.

There aren’t many positions on LSU’s defense where it can feel pretty good about its two-deep, but the linebacker spot is one of them.

The Tigers bring quite a bit of experience to the table despite losing starter [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] this past offseason. The group is headlined by [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], a projected first-round pick who began his career playing on the edge but spent 2023 off the ball. He’s expected to play off the ball again this fall, albeit in a more varied role.

Playing alongside Perkins is [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag], LSU’s second-leading tackler in 2023 who has as much experience as anyone on the team having started 27 of the last 28 games for the Tigers. Depth-wise, brothers [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] and [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag] have both shown impressive flashes so far in their careers.

Phil Steele ranked that group inside the top 25 entering the 2024 season, placing it at No. 22. With new defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s background being as a linebackers coach, it’s fair to expect that unit will be a strength this fall.

The Tigers need more production out of Perkins this fall for the unit to live up to the expectations, but the starting duo is solid, and Whit Weeks especially looks poised for a breakout entering his sophomore season.

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LSU announces player participants in this year’s SEC Media Days

Brian Kelly will be joined by Garrett Nussmeier, Harold Perkins and Mason Taylor in Dallas.

It’s almost that time of year again, folks. On July 15, SEC Media Days starts in Dallas. Obviously, there are a ton of topics that will be brought up surrounding conference newcomers Texas and Oklahoma, but we are here to hear about LSU.

For the LSU portion of media days, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has announced that he will be joined in Dallas by star quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], star linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] and star tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag].

Nussmeier has patiently waited his turn on the bayou as he has been a backup to [autotag]Max Johnson[/autotag] during his freshman season and then he was a backup to [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] for the past two seasons. This fall it will be his time to shine.

Perkins has made a name for himself as a player who wreaks havoc while pass-rushing. He has a chance to be one of the top linebackers in the NFL draft next season.

Taylor will be a junior next fall and out of 27 possible games he could have played in during the past two seasons, he played in 26 games and started in 25 of those.

Next week will be a fun week for fans of SEC football.

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Two LSU players named Walter Camp Preseason All-Americans

Will Campbell and Harold Perkins Jr. have both been recognized on the Walter Camp Preseason All-American Team.

[autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] have both been recognized on the [autotag]Walter Camp Preseason All-American Team[/autotag]. Campbell is a First Team All-American and Perkins is a Second Team All-American.

Out of 27 total games in the past two football seasons, Campbell has played and started in 26 of those games. He became a star as a freshman and earned the No. 7 patch on his jersey before his sophomore season began. As we enter his Junior season, Campbell is ranked as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the NCAA and the top offensive tackle prospect in the next NFL draft.

Perkins was in the same recruiting class as Campbell and like Campbell, he became a star quick. Perkins has played in all 27 games but he has only started in 21 of those games. He became notorious for sacking quarterbacks as a freshman but his productivity fell off last season. That could be due to the scheme the Tigers were running on defense. I think that Perkins is going to have his best year yet this fall.

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