BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – LSU’s top linebacker, Harold Perkins Jr., has an anterior cruciate ligament tear that will end what was expected to be his final season with the Tigers before entering the NFL draft, LSU coach Brian Kelly said Monday.
“Certainly an injury that we feel terrible about, especially for Harold and the work that he´s done,” Kelly said. “We´ll have somebody else step up. … These are difficult, but we’ve got really good players that can come in.”
The injury to Perkins’ right knee occurred when the preseason AP All-America selection was making a tackle in the fourth quarter of 14th-ranked LSU’s 34-17 victory over UCLA.
Perkins burst into the college football limelight as a freshman during the 2022-23 season, when he had 7 1/2 sacks among 13 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and an interception.
Last season, Perkins took on a larger role, playing multiple linebacker positions, and saw a moderate dip in some of his more flashy statistics, finishing with 5 1/2 sacks among 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and an interception.
This season he had yet to record a sack, had 1 1/2 tackles for loss and had not forced a turnover in nearly four games.
Film Analysis:
Harold Perkins Jr. is a former five-star defender who burst onto the scene as a true freshman making impactful plays and quickly gaining a reputation as one of the best defensive players in college football. Perkins’ biggest impact came as an edge rusher.
Perkins showcases a detailed understanding of how to beat OTs and get to the quarterback. Perkins not only made big-time plays but did them in clutch moments as a much-needed bright spot for an LSU defense that struggled and needed a big-time play to help win the game. Perkins has an explosive first step combined with natural bend and closing speed that aids in how efficient and effective he is as a threat to offenses rushing the quarterback.
Perkins is an alignment-versatile defender who will align everywhere from a blitzing-A-gap defender to the stack backer position, or from a stand-up edge rusher to playing the nickel and carrying slot receivers vertical up the field. All of those alignments allow Perkins to truly be a chess piece and in advantageous situations to make impactful plays for the LSU defense.
As a pass rusher, Perkins is most effectively aligned as a stand-up edge rusher. At the snap, Perkins has an explosive first step allowing him to quickly gain ground on offensive tackles, putting them in difficult positions early on in the rep. At the apex of the route, Perkins’ height becomes an advantage of his due to his ability to dip under OTs and he shows to have good bend and fluid hips to turn the corner and get to the quarterback. Perkins has great burst and acceleration. Once he turns the corner, he has closing speed to the quarterback and finishes the play. At moments, his speed appears to overwhelm OTs and his sacks happen so quickly that the quarterbacks don’t appear to be anticipating any contact. This puts Perkins in position for strip-sacks and fumble recoveries. Perkins appears to be a high-IQ natural pass rusher whose combination of hand maneuvers work as a complementary addition to his natural athleticism as a pass rusher. Perkins can redirect and is a smooth change-of-direction player.
Playing the stack backer position, Perkins profiles as a sideline-to-sideline player who is an easy accelerator and makes plays all over the field. Perkins has the speed to track ball-carriers down and has a high motor.
The areas of concern for Pekins are twofold. Although Perkins is a high-level pass rusher, he would be considered undersized by NFL standards. His lack of size shows in his ability to sustain the edge against the run. It appears to be difficult for Perkins to shed offensive linemen when engaged and he also struggles to sustain the line of scrimmage. Perkins needs to improve the quickness in which he diagnoses run plays and attacks gaps to make tackles at or near the line of scrimmage from the stack linebacker position. Right now, Perkins takes time to read run plays, and offensive linemen can climb to him and block him, creating an opportunity for a big run.
Overall, Perkins is a versatile chess piece type of player whose main concern is not skill nor production, but where he will play to be most productive while limiting disadvantageous situations.
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