Brian Kelly is excited about Harold Perkins, fired up for his future

True freshman LSU linebacker Harold Perkins is making an immediate impact in Baton Rouge. The Cpyress, TX native was a five-star recruit and the No. 9 overall player in the 2022 On3 Consensus. So his contributions as a first-year player aren’t totally surprising. Still, very rare to see such an impressive true freshman in the SEC.

Of course, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly is thrilled with the early returns on the blue-chip defender. Perkins is already up to 21 tackles and a sack-and-a-half so far through four games, an he’s still mainly playing as a backup. After LSU’s game last weekend, Kelly was asked about Perkins and why he’s gotten on the field so early in his career. Here was that answer:

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“Look, here’s the thing with with Harold: He’s going to flash because of his skill set. I mean, he is twitchy, he is fast, he has all those tools that are going to allow him to show. And then, [LSU DC Matt House] is doing a great job of of keeping it in the in the easiest form within the defense. We can’t give him — he’s just gotten here. So to give him the entire playbook is not fair to him. So Matt’s given him pieces of the playbook that allows him to go play fast, because that’s his best trait.

“But he’s learning and he’s — I’ll tell you what — he’s so coachable. That’s the great part about it. He comes to the sideline, he wants to know what he needs to do better each and every snap. So we’re really pleased with his progress. But I think what we’re more pleased with is what he’s doing off the field in the classroom, and then how coachable he is.”

Perkins’ athleticism demands playing time, even as a true freshman. As for how to use him, Brian Kelly sees a variety of ways in which he can impact the game in the front seven.

“I think there’s a role for him,” Kelly said. “Certainly, he adds something to our pass rush and we certainly saw that. That’s why he got the opportunity to play out on the edge a little bit. You saw him inside with some blitzing inside. I think we found a niche for him in terms of where he can help us. He can continue to evolve into that position.

“Now, is he going to beat out BJ Ojulari at that position? I don’t think so. But he can certainly lend some support to that position. And certainly in some dime and nickel packages.”

Bright, bright future for Harold Perkins in purple and gold.