Harold Perkins talks decision to sign with the LSU Tigers

Cypress, Texas – On3 Consensus 5-star linebacker Harold Perkins is headed back home for college.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound uber athletic prospect announced for the LSU Tigers over Florida and Texas A&M today to end a recruitment full of twists and turns. Those twists included a commitment and decommitment from Texas A&M in the same month.

At the end of the day, Perkins simply followed his heart.

Having interviewed Perkins around a dozen times in the last couple of years, one message was always consistent.

Perkins described LSU, the fan base and the people of Louisiana as “my people”.

Perkins on the LSU decision

Shortly after announcing for LSU, Perkins spoke to On3 about his decision to sign with the Tigers. His reasoning for picking the Tigers was simple.

“I followed my heart. I did what was best for me. Not for anybody else. The best decision for me.” Perkins told On3 after his announcement.

Matt House was big in the decision to sign with LSU

There are many key conversations over the course of a recruitment. But for Perkins the most meaningful down the stretch was with the new LSU defensive coordinator.

“My first impression of Coach (Matt) House wasn’t in person because he was with the Chiefs. We talked a lot, and not all about football. He was telling me what he could do for me, and everything like that. One thing that stood out about Coach House is when I did my zoom call with him on my visit to LSU. He showed me all the mistakes I made on tape. He broke me down. Nobody ever did that to me. I mean, I knew my mistakes, but Coach House was the first coach to break me down like that. I knew he could help me get better. I’m raw man, and at the next level you can’t be raw.”

Perkins uncle Alvin Walton Jr. echoed his nephews comments on the impact of Matt House.

“He wasn’t there on the visit last weekend, but he came in on a zoom call. And he checked all the boxes. Every question Harold had, Coach House had the answer. And Harold had about 30 questions! Then he had a guy get on the blackboard and broke Harold down right in front of him. He told Harold what his strengths and weaknesses are. No other coach did that.”