Harold Perkins
{{short description|American football player (born 2004)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college football player
|name=Harold Perkins
|image=092323 LSU v Arkansas 017 (53533550891) (cropped).jpg
|caption=Perkins in 2023
|school=LSU Tigers
|currentnumber= 7
|currentposition=Linebacker
|class=Junior
|birth_date={{birth date and age|2004|9|10}}
|birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
|heightft=6
|heightin=1
|weight=220
|highlights=
|highschool=Cypress Park (Cypress, Texas)
|pastschools=
- LSU (2022–present)
|bowlgames=
|espn=4685502
|yahoo=
}}
Harold Perkins Jr. (born September 10, 2004) is an American football linebacker for the LSU Tigers.
Early years and recruiting
Perkins was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but his family was displaced by Hurricane Katrina a year after his birth. Perkins’ mother, Bertha Walton, grandmother, and aunt attempted to gather the family elsewhere in New Orleans, but the storm was too much. They eventually climbed through two houses to seek refuge in the hallway of their neighbor’s home until Perkins' uncle evacuated the family in a 2004 Chevrolet Blazer. 17 members of the family would evacuate to Texas soon after.{{Cite web |last=Vann |first=Leah |date=August 20, 2022 |title=2023 marks the final recruiting class with 'Katrina kids.' This is the story of their journey home. |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/2023-marks-the-final-recruiting-class-with-katrina-kids-this-is-the-story-of-their/article_70053230-1ffb-11ed-a6e3-5f8d8209b78d.html |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=The Advocate |language=en}}
Perkins grew up in Cypress, Texas and played high school football and basketball at Cypress Park High School.{{cite web|title=#10 Harold Perkins|publisher=Louisiana State University|accessdate=August 26, 2022|url=https://lsusports.net/sports/fb/roster/player/harold-perkins/}} Perkins played linebacker and running back, earning first team All-Greater Houston as a utility player on offense. He was rated No. 4 nationally and No. 1 at the linebacker position in ESPN's rankings of the 2022 college football recruiting class.{{cite web|title=ESPN 300|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=August 26, 2022|url=http://www.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2022/order/true}} He originally committed to Texas A&M, then decommitted, and ultimately signed with LSU. He was the top recruit in LSU's 2022 recruiting class.{{cite news|title=LB Harold Perkins, LSU's latest five-star signee|newspaper=Lafayette Daily Advertiser|author=Koki Riley|date=February 8, 2022|pages=B1, BW|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108375463/harold-perkins/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news|title=Who is Harold Perkins? See why the new LSU linebacker is considered the nation's best|newspaper=The Advocate|author=Patrick Magee|date=February 2, 2022|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_07300d78-83a4-11ec-b9cd-872ef9b13bc5.html}} Between 2009 and 2022, Perkins was one of at least 26 LSU football players who were displaced by Katrina during or before their freshman year in college. Others included Grant Delpit, Saahdiq Charles, and Leonard Fournette.
LSU Tigers
=2022=
Perkins won a starting spot at linebacker as a freshman in the fall of 2022.{{cite news|title=Inside the rise of LSU freshman Harold Perkins, an 'anomaly' just getting started|newspaper=NOLA.com|date=November 12, 2022|url=https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/article_c31f6aec-6206-11ed-a800-833de2fa0e20.html}} In LSU's upset victory over Alabama, he registered seven pressures and was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.{{cite news|title=Brian Kelly explains why LSU football freshman phenom Harold Perkins is 'a throwback'|newspaper=Lafayette Daily Advertiser|author=Koki Riley|date=November 7, 2022|url=https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2022/11/07/lsu-football-brian-kelly-harold-perkins-throwback-alabama/69611575007/}} After the game, LSU coach Brian Kelly said of Perkins: "He's a bit of a throwback, and a throwback in this sense, 'just tell me what to do. I don't need all the other things. And I'll figure it out as I go.'" In week 10 against Arkansas, in a performance described as “dominating”, Perkins tied the LSU single-game record for quarterback sacks with four and forced two fumbles, including the game winner.Harold Perkins Devastated Arkansas’ Offense. The Rest of the Story is Harder to Digest https://www.bestofarkansassports.com/arkansas-football-offensive-clunker-vs-lsu/{{cite news|title=LSU Tigers freshman Harold Perkins got sick then dominated the Arkansas Razorbacks |publisher=ESPN.com |author=Jeremy Willis |date=November 12, 2022
|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35011465/lsu-harold-perkins-jordan-flu-game}} Following the Arkansas game, Perkins was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row as well as the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. Through the first ten games of the 2022 season, Perkins totaled 52 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception.{{cite web|title=Harold Perkins|publisher=ESPN.com|accessdate=November 12, 2022|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4685502/harold-perkins-jr}} At the end of the season, he was named to Pro Football Focus's PFF True Freshman All-America team.{{cite web|title=Haulcy Named PFF True Freshman All-America|publisher=Pro Football Focus|date=November 29, 2022|url=https://golobos.com/news/2022/11/29/haulcy-named-pff-true-freshman-all-america/}} Perkins will wear No. 4 for LSU in the upcoming 2023 college football season.
=2024=
On September 22, 2024, it was announced that Perkins had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and would miss the remainder of the season.{{Cite web|title=LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.'s season is ended by knee injury, coach confirms|url=https://apnews.com/article/lsu-harold-perkins-injury-b37430d9e769abf53ab4472160060f67|access-date=September 28, 2024|website=apnews.com=en}}
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Season
! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Tackles ! colspan="5"| Interceptions ! colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | |
| colspan="17" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|LSU Tigers}}"| LSU Tigers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022
| 14 || 8 || 39 || 33 || 72 || 13.0 || 7.5 || 1 || -3 || -3.0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023
| 13 || 13 || 43 || 32 || 75 || 13.0 || 5.5 || 1 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024
| 4 || 4 || 5 || 12 || 17 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 1|| 1 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/harold-perkins-1.html Career] | 31 | 31 | 87 | 77 | 164 | 28.0 | 13.0 | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://lsusports.net/sports/fb/roster/player/harold-perkins-jr/ LSU Tigers bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Harold}}
Category:American football linebackers
Category:LSU Tigers football players