'He's a crazy athlete': Addition of Suntarine Perkins has Ole Miss linebackers 'looking good'
The Ole Miss defense needed fixing after last season, especially at the second and third levels. New defensive coordinator Pete Golding went to work to improve his linebackers group.
Those improvements included getting Monty Montgomery and Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste out of the transfer portal, but the biggest acquisition was landing five-star and No. 1 player in Mississippi; Suntarine Perkins.
Expectations are high for Perkins, who is barely four weeks into his Ole Miss career as the football team concludes its fall camp this week. Throughout camp Perkins has worked his way up the ranks from the third string to getting rotation work in with the second string and a little bit with the starters here and there.
All three newcomers have become key players at the linebacker position but the true freshman continues to catch the eyes of his teammates
“Perkins, for a freshman he’s progressing a lot,” Ashanti Cistrunk said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s a crazy athlete and he’s just got it all. I’ve kind of taken him under my wing, helping him progress more and understand the defense more. But, we’re looking good at linebacker. I can’t wait to see it all come together.”
Cistrunk was another player on the defensive side of the ball that dipped their toe in the transfer portal but opted to withdraw and stay at Ole Miss.
As has been the case with other players when asked about deciding to stay in Oxford there was a common denominator in Golding.
“Me and coach Golding, we actually sat and talked a lot,” Cistrunk said. “Over time I just figured the best position for me was to stay here and not go anywhere.”
Related: Reginald Hughes is back ‘home’ within the Ole Miss defense after switching positions
Cistrunk’s confidence in the Ole Miss linebacker room being improved from last season to this year is a credit to Golding.
Golding serves as the position coach for the linebackers, meaning they get more one-on-one time with the former Alabama defensive coordinator than the rest of the Rebels defense outside of practice.
Beyond the trio of new additions it is Golding and his approach to coaching that is making the entire defense walk with more confidence in itself heading into the season opener next Saturday.
“(Golding’s) such a smart guy that he instills his knowledge into each and every last one of us,” Cistrunk said. “We know the defense, the ins and the outs. It’s pretty great and he’s a funny guy. You gotta be in there with him.”
When it comes to preparation on the field, this defense is prepared to face any and all offenses. After a spring and fall camp against Ole Miss’ up-tempo offense Cistrunk is expecting opposing offenses to not be an issue.
“Our offense, they go at an unrealistic pace in practice,” Cistrunk said. “When it comes to game time it won’t be anything new.”
