Brian Kelly reveals how teammates have helped open up Harold Perkins on LSU defense

Freshman star Harold Perkins is a standout who has announced himself on the national stage in recent weeks. That included posting four sacks in a dominant performance against Arkansas. In many ways, he’s the kind of player that Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for. After all, it was his belief that he would have a better opportunity to put together a team of players like Perkins in the SEC and at LSU specifically.

For his part, Brian Kelly is crediting Harold Perkins’ teammates on the LSU defense for helping to open up and allow him to emerge the way he has.

“Obviously, a lot of this has to do with the ability to flush him out and, you know, that’s BJ [Ojulari], and Ali Gaye, and certainly J [Jaquelin] Roy probably had his best game of the year,” Brian Kelly said. “I mean, there’s a lot of guys that go into this. Micah Baskerville.”

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“I could go on and on with that front. Sai’vion [Jones] was outstanding. He played with speed and agility. That group up front–Mekhi Wingo we’ve talked about all year–they make a lot of that happen because they flush that quarterback and then you got a guy like that who can just chase them down.”

So, according to Brian Kelly, it’s a team effort that sets Harold Perkins up and gives him the ability to make plays during his pass rush.

“It’s pretty impressive that the marriage, if you will, between the two where you have a group that can get a quarterback outside the pocket and then go chase it down. You know, it’s kind of what I’ve talked about from an offensive perspective. It’s gotten us thinking about, do you spy Harold now? Like, do you put a spy on Harold? Do you have somebody from the running back position try and shadow and shadow him? So, we’re preparing for all of these eventualities as we kind of move forward.”

A spy is typically used by the defense to keep running quarterbacks from scrambling on a defense in man coverage. In this case, Brian Kelly would be doing so to help in pass protection against a great rusher instead.

Harold Perkins is a true freshman, who was a consensus five-star recruit and the ninth overall prospect in the Class of 2022.

Brian Kelly raved about Harold Perkins’ performance

After Harold Perkins’ insane game against Arkansas, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t think he’s the best freshman defender in the country. Among those who were impressed was Brian Kelly himself.

“That he’s on our team, thank God,” Brian Kelly said.

“Just his athletic ability, his ability to consistently make plays. Listen, getting him in position to make plays, too, as a true freshman. I think [defensive coordinator Matt] House has done a great job of utilizing him. Sometimes, you have a great player like that and you don’t utilize him the right way. I think our staff and Coach House has done a great job of using him to make an impact like he did today here at Arkansas.”