Most football players who grow up in Mobile, Alabama would jump at the opportunity to play for Nick Saban. Not La’Mical Perine, though.
Years before he became a fourth-round pick of the Jets’, the running back was a lightly-recruited high school teenager struggling to get noticed by big-time programs. Florida was one of the earliest exceptions, though, and so Perine decided to head south for his college career.
It wasn’t until Perine had already committed to the Gators that Saban and Alabama came calling. They tried to flip his commitment, but Perine resisted the urge to go back on his word to Florida.
“Nick Saban was the one who called me when he gave me my offer,” Perine said last season. “It was kind of surreal, but I had to come back to reality and realize I’m a Gator.”
Told that no one turns Saban down, the tailback replied, “Well, La’Mical Perine did.”
A three-star recruit in high school, Perine also drew offers from programs such as Colorado State, Louisana, Louisana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, Southern Miss, Mississippi State and Minnesota, among others. Florida was the most prominent football school to show interest — until Alabama came along, that is.
But Saban and the Crimson Tide were late to the party. It took them too long to realize that Perine could be a force in their backfield.
“Alabama recruited me but they got on me late in my senior year,” Perine said. “I felt kind of disrespected by that. I felt like I had to stick with my loyalty and that was Florida.”
Perine, who was also told he was too slow to play at Auburn, can’t be too disappointed with his decision to remain a Gator. He established himself as an NFL-caliber, dual-threat back at Florida, running for 2,485 yards and 22 touchdowns to go along with 674 yards and eight scores receiving during his four years in Gainesville. A captain there, he’s one of just three SEC players over the last three years with 2,000+ rushing yards and 500+ receiving yards.
Clearly, the Jets liked what they saw from Perine, as they used the 120th overall pick on him. More of a bruiser than Le’Veon Bell, the hope is for Perine to serve as the veteran’s backup while developing into a reliable third-down option. Replacing Bell as the starter is a possibility down the road.
For now, Perine can focus on transitioning to the NFL, all the while knowing he made the right choice by going to Florida.