After a solid first two seasons with the purple and gold, linebacker Harold Perkins Jr has some high expectations heading into year three, and according to LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker, he looks like he’s just about ready to go.
It’s time for linebacker Harold Perkins Jr to make his mark on the Tiger defense
It’s officially money making year for linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. Entering his third season with Brian Kelly and the Tigers, the former five-star is set to be eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft and has the potential to be a fairly high draft pick, depending on how this season turns out for him.
Entering his freshman season in 2022, the sky was the limit, and he showed college football fans all over the country that at his best, he’s more than capable of being a game changer for the purple and gold defense. He’d go on to record 72 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception, and he quickly began to gain traction as a defensive player of the year candidate ahead of his sophomore season.
As it would turn out, while the potential was certainly there, things didn’t exactly go as expected. In fact, he nearly replicated his freshman year stats exactly, recording 74 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception as a sophomore.
While it wasn’t a bad season by any means, it certainly didn’t live up to his high expectations, but a bulk of the inconsistencies have been attributed to a position change over to middle linebacker as opposed to his usage as a primary edge rusher in his first season. With that said, entering his second year of the position change, a jump in production is by far the expectation for the New Orleans, LA, product, and thus far, it seems like he’s living up to the standard in 2024 fall camp.
LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker gives glowing review of the third-year defender
“He’s doing an unbelievable job. Harold Perkins right now is playing on fire,” LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker said while speaking with the media over the weekend. “Again, he has a lot on his plate mentally with packages – we’re moving him all around, so he’s not just playing on the inside, but he’s fitting the run as well as anybody that we have at linebacker right now.”
After watching two seasons of Harold Perkins Jr as a part of the purple and gold defense, there’s very little doubt about his ability as a pass rusher. His speed with the flexibility to bend at the hips makes for a lethal combination that very few offensive tackles at this level can defend.
The biggest concern, however, is when run defense comes into play. Up to this point, we haven’t seen much consistency when it comes to the speedy linebacker plugging holes on the defense, but with his natural ability, there’s little doubt that he can make it work. It’s just a matter of spending time at the middle linebacker position to learn how to do it.
“I think our linebackers are doing a good job overall fitting the run, but very very pleased with Harold, and really, his development,” Baker continued. “Again, you talk about from where we started this thing at the beginning of spring to where he is now, it’s night and day. And he’s an ascending player. I really think he’s not even scratching the surface, still, of where he’s gonna be, so I look forward to every single week having him improving, but very very happy with what he’s doing right now.”
Coming from Missouri, defensive coordinator Blake Baker certainly has a pedigree for improving defenses at a rapid pace, particularly when it comes to the linebacker position. His hands on approach combined with constant energy in practice consistently resonates with his players, and if the offseason reports mean anything at all, it appears that his methods might already be working for the Tigers.
If the LSU defense is going to show any improvement at all in 2024, Harold Perkins Jr is going to need to be a major part of it. The 2023 roster unfortunately didn’t make the most out of their elite offense, so look for Brian Kelly to go all in with his year-three team to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
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