Perine is poised for memorable season
Versatile tailback led the Gators in rushing 7 of the last 8 games
GAINESVILLE — The opponent has tailback Lamical Perine in its sights, looking to corral him.
Perine has a split-second decision to make.
Nick Saban, the ultimate closer in college football, is making an 11th-hour pitch for a player who grew up just a few hours south but was considered too slow to play for the mighty Crimson Tide and in-state rival Auburn.
Perine understandably is intrigued by Saban’s overture, but ultimately he is loyal.
“It was kind of surreal,” Perine recalled of the phone call. “But I had to come back to reality and realize I’m a Gator.”
Perine has never looked back. Yet recently he took a moment to reflect on the life-changing decision as he approaches his final season in Gainesville.
Few players, after all, apply the stiff arm to Saban, the architect of eight of the past nine top-ranked recruiting classes.
“Lamical Perine did,” the UF senior said.
Since then, things have worked out pretty well for Perine, not that it always was clear they would.
For the first time, the 21-year-old from outside Mobile entered preseason camp as the team’s No. 1 tailback and centerpiece of the offense.
Jordan Scarlett was the man most of Perine’s freshman season in 2016.
Malik Davis was the shiny new toy a season later until a seasonending knee injury. By the end of 2018, though, Perine was the Gators’ most productive and versatile back.
Perine led the team in rushing seven of the last eight games against FBS foes, totaled 214 yards from scrimmage at Vanderbilt and ended the regular season with a career-high 129 rushing yards at Florida State.
“A lot of people sleep on me,” Perine said. “In my eyes and in everybody who knows me, they know I’m a ball player.”
When Scarlett left school early for the draft, Perine delayed his own NFL dream for a chance to show the rest of the college football world the kind of player he is.
Perine’s experience gives him
an edge over explosive sophomore Dameon Pierce or Davis, now a redshirt sophomore following season-ending injuries the past two years.
“When he’s knowledgeable like that, he plays relaxed,” running backs coach Greg Knox said of Perine. “When he plays relaxed, he plays very fast and quick. He understands what’s going on, which allows him to play very fast. He plays without thinking, so he’s reacting.
“That’s good for backs.” Perine’s versatility distinguishes him from many backs in the SEC, earning him a spot on the media’s preseason all-conference second team.
Always blessed with keen vision and instincts, the 5-foot-11, 227-pound Perine can run with power — his 15 rushing touchdowns the past two seasons lead UF.
Last season following an offseason in coach Nick Savage’s transformational strength program, Perine discovered an extra gear and led the team’s backs with 22 runs of 10 yards or longer (Scarlett had 21) and an average of 6.2 yards per carry (Pierce averaged 6.1).
“I definitely noticed a little speed change last year from the year before,” linebacker James Houston IV said. “I definitely noticed when he got in the open field he put on those burners and let it go.”
Houston, a redshirt sophomore, said Perine’s ability as a pass-catcher adds another dimension to his game and the Gators’ offense.
“That’s what I like about Perine,” Houston said. “I think Perine can really separate himself from other backs because he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I think you can put him in the slot. I think you can do a lot with Perine.”
Recognizing the chance to get involved in other ways in coach Dan Mullen’s imaginative attack, Perine worked with the team’s receivers during the offseason in an effort to improve on his 13 receptions for 170 yards and a touchdown a season ago.
“That’s a big weapon because you’ve got a back that can isolate a linebacker out in space,” Knox said. “That’s a weapon.”
While coaching at Mississippi State, Mullen and Knox saw something in Perine long ago before anyone else ready had. The Bulldogs were the first program to offer Perine a scholarship, following the loss of All-SEC tailback Josh Robinson who had totaled more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage in 2014.
Knox said Perine could be even better in 2019 — “Oh, easily, easily.”Growing up where Alabama and Auburn are king, Perine become a fan of the UF teams of Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. When former coach Jim McElwain’s staff offered him a scholarship, Perine jumped at the chance.
Once he did, Perine let nothing or no one — not even Nick Saban — change the direction he was headed.
“No, never, I’m an honest guy. I’m a loyalty guy,” Perine said. “Florida was honest with me, so I was going to do the same thing.”