Perkins disrupts UA QBs
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Razorbacks knew LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. could be a problem heading into Saturday’s SEC West game.
They could not have imagined how the freshman, who had been dealing with the flu, would blow up their plans in at 1310 loss to the Tigers.
Perkins wound up with a school-record tying four sacks and two forced fumbles, and he also excelled at spying on quarterbacks Malik Hornsby and Cade Fortin.
“He’s outstanding,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said. “He’s great. I mean he’s really good. We knew it coming in.”
Arkansas center Ricky Stromberg and tailback Rocket Sanders both gave props to Perkins.
“They were bringing nickel fire with him off the edge, so he was coming off the edge a lot, which I think that’s a good spot for him to blitz from,” Stromberg said. “He’s a fast kid. He had a wonderful game, he had a great game.”
Added Sanders, “I would definitely say he’s a great player.”
The 6-2, 220-pounder from Cypress, Texas, did not let Hornsby get to the edge on several runs, and he even punched the ball away from the speedy quarterback early in the second quarter, leading to a 17-yard sack, an LSU recovery and the Tigers’ first points of the game.
“His head was on fire,” LSU defensive end BJ Ojulari said. “Just persistent pursuit of just trying to get to the quarterback. “The whole game I was telling him on the sideline, ‘That’s five [pressures], that’s six,’ just keeping his head up, keeping him going … and when we needed a big play he made it.”
LSU Coach Brian Kelly brought up Perkins’ battling with the flu, saying he mentioned to the freshman that Michael Jordan had one of the best performances of his career while dealing with it.
“He got sick before the game … as we were going into our team meal, team meeting,” Kelly said. “I said,