Following a relatively unimpressive season opener versus Florida State, many fans had questions regarding LSU football linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. Was there simply too much hype surrounding him? Does coach Brian Kelly not know how to best utilize his talents? Whatever the reasoning, we could see him take a significant step forward over the next few weeks in 2023.
LSU football linebacker Harold Perkins Jr struggled in week one of 2023
One of the big reasons many believed that LSU football would ultimately win in week one versus Florida State was linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. The true sophomore broke out in a major way toward the second half of last season.
Because of that, Florida State in 2022 never had to face him at his best. Naturally, that should mean the Tigers could have had a serious advantage heading into 2023. Right?
Well, that turned out to be relatively untrue, as Perkins Jr couldn’t find a way to impact the game as many anticipated. Through the entire four quarters, Perkins Jr recorded just five tackles.
For context, this tied for fourth on the team, with linebacker Omar Speights, safety Major Burns and cornerback Zy Alexander each recording at least seven.
Mixing things up could be what’s best for both Perkins Jr and LSU
Following all the offseason hype, many expected big things from linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. However, following his relatively disappointing start to the season, many began to question what went wrong.
It’s hard to believe that the cause was a lack of talent. After all, the former five-star single-handedly won games for the Tigers in 2022. This brings in the question of coaching.
What if coach Brian Kelly hasn’t figured out the best way to utilize his talents? When you have a star like Perkins Jr, it’s human nature to want to put him in the best position to succeed. That could be a matter of keeping things simple and finding a happy medium.
Earlier this week, coach Kelly spoke with the media and discussed linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.
“There’s a lot going on. And you can clearly look at Harold and what he’s asked to do versus lining him up off the edge. Player development has to be thought about, where he goes at the next level has to be thought about, and then impacting our team,” Brian Kelly said. “So I think that there is a happy medium there that we could probably strike, and we’ve already begun to look at how we can be most effective for Harold and for LSU.”
With future adjustments expected, the best could be yet to come in 2023
Ultimately, what coach Brian Kelly said makes a lot of sense. The job of a college football coach is to help put his players in the best position to succeed.
Linebacker Harold Perkins Jr, without a doubt, has a future in the NFL. He’s simply too gifted of an athlete not to make it to the highest level of this sport.
So, it makes sense that Kelly wants to help prepare him for that next step by moving him into more of a traditional linebacker spot. However, he must also remember that the other part of his job is to win games.
Following last week, it’s clear that something needs to change. The Florida State offense avoided Perkins Jr with ease all game, and it showed with their 45 points on the day.
If coach Brian Kelly can find a way to move his star linebacker around so he’s both out in coverage and coming after the quarterback, it could be a game-changer. Not only would it help to confuse the offense, but it would create so much flexibility for the LSU football defense in 2023.
The Tigers have their week two game this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CST in Baton Rouge versus Grambling State. This is the perfect opportunity to mess around with linebacker Harold Perkins Jr and find the best possible way to utilize him.
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