Dallas — Harold Perkins, in a meeting room at the Omni Hotel, pushed at the collar of his dress shirt, which was fitting him more snugly than he had thought, revealing what all the reporters covering LSU were thinking. The meeting room overlooked the glittering cityscape of the city.
As he assisted LSU in opening SEC media days on Monday, the standout linebacker for the Tigers noted, “I didn’t expect to be here.” “I assumed it would be one of those players who has been with the team longer than me, like Greg Penn or Major Burns. However, I’m glad to be here and speak for the defense, serving as the defense’s face in a sense.
You are too humble, Harold.
In 2024, Perkins will be the face of this LSU defense’s transformation. He has gained bulk, stepped away from the edge, and taken on a significant amount of responsibility for elevating the Tigers to a level where they can compete in the new 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024.
Even without Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and two wide receivers selected in the first round of the NFL draft, the LSU offense should still be “pretty stinking good,” according to a former coach who wishes to remain anonymous due to ongoing legal issues.
Football SEC Media Days
Harold Perkins, a linebacker for LSU, speaks on Monday, July 15, 2024, during Southeastern Conference media days in Dallas.
However, in order to improve the defense, Perkins needs to be improved, top of the list, number one. a defense whose coaching staff was disbanded and reconstituted with a fresh group of intelligent individuals centered on coordinator Blake Baker.
About last season’s defense, Perkins remarked, “It’s no secret.” We faced several obstacles to get past. That will serve as inspiration for us.
Throughout his time at LSU, Perkins has barely been interviewed by reporters. His final public statement came in October following the Tigers’ victory over Missouri, when his interception proved to be crucial. However, it seems that Garbo has a talent for understatement in the present era.
To remark that the LSU defense had “a few hurdles” in 2023 would be the equivalent of stating that some people in Dallas wear cowboy hats, pardner. The unit from the previous year merited the suffix “-less,” which means defenseless. The Tigers were ranked 85th in running defense, 105th in total defense, 115th in passing yards surrendered, and 78th in points allowed out of 130 FBS teams.
On the other hand, LSU routinely dominated the country in both scoring and total offense. But to anticipate those types of rankings again would be unjust after the losses of Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas.
Still, the Tigers should have one of the strongest teams in the nation in 2024 with players like Mason Taylor, Will Campbell, Kyren Lacy, and Garrett Nussmeier. There isn’t a test on the schedule that LSU can’t pass if the defense can meet them halfway, say by just ranking mediocre or roughly 60th in terms of total defense or points allowed.
After allowing 25.8 points per game the previous season, Kentucky finished 60th. Marshall’s 376.5 yards allotted placed him 60th.
LSU defense, just be Marshall or Kentucky in football. Is that asking for too much?
Better not be. The offensive will probably tire at some point and manage only 16 or 17 or 20 points. The defense’s job is to maintain the line and allow the Tigers to scrape out a victory of maybe 20–17. It might make the difference between playing in a consolation bowl game and earning a CFP berth.
“We’re confident,” stated Perkins, who finds it admirable that Baker practices with cleats on to better illustrate his coaching philosophy. “We have faith in Coach Baker and his ability to strengthen the defense.”
It’s a different story to trust Perkins when he returns to inside linebacker. Before returning to the edge in the middle of the season, he was largely ineffectual there. It’s either because Perkins was too light (he was 215-217 pounds last season and is now 225 pounds) or because former D-coordinator Matt House’s plan was too intricate, but it didn’t work.
When I declare that I’m adopting a “I’ll believe it when I see it” mentality toward Harold Perkins, inside linebacker 2.0, I think I can speak for a country full of LSU football skeptics.
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