National signing day for the Class of 2022 came and went on Tuesday and with much of the country in the middle of a snowstorm it was LSU that picked up the commitment of the highest-rated recruit on the day.
By Steve Wright
The Ed Orgeron era is over and former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made his biggest splash since landing in Baton Rouge when 5-star linebacker Harold Perkins out of Cypress Park (Cypress, TX) High School pledged to the project.
Perkins is one of the highest-rated players in the entire country. The 6-foot-2.5, 210-pounder is rated on the 247Sports Composite as the No. 8 player nationally, the No. 2 linebacker, and the No. 2 player in Texas. He grades out even higher with the recruiting staff of 247Sports, where he is seen as the No. 5 prospect in the entire class, and both the No. 1 linebacker and the No. 1 player in Texas.
This is a big recruiting win for LSU. Perkins picked the Tigers over offers from SEC schools Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M (previously committed), while also beating out the Texas Longhorns who historically have owned their in-state recruiting grounds.
In the video below you can see Perkins standing out as a two-way player for the (ironically) Tigers. His athletic ability is off of the charts, as is his pursuit range on defense. Adding size will allow him to better cover tight ends over the middle, but his aggressive nature is going to result in big hits and big plays for the LSU defense as soon as Perkins steps onto the college gridiron. I especially like the play at 3:45 on this video where Perkins picks off a pass and takes it to the house on a play that is all instinct. His ability to read the quarterback’s eyes while also seeing a slanting receiver in his peripherals and drop perfectly into a zone to make an interception is a next-level stuff.
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