Whit Weeks, Harold Perkins injury updates: Brian Kelly reveals when to expect LSU stars to return

With spring practice kicking off at LSU this week, there were a pair of players who were noticeably absent. Linebackers Harold Perkins and Whit Weeks will both be sidelined for all of spring as they are still recovering from season-ending injuries suffered in 2024.

Perkins tore his ACL in Week 4, while Weeks broke his fibula in the Texas Bowl against Baylor and had surgery in January. Although those injuries will keep both out of the spring, coach Brian Kelly had a positive update about when he expects them to return.

“They’re both moving around,” Kelly said in a press conference. “They’re very active in our progression of their rehab, if you will. They’re both gonna be ready for our June training and fully cleared, so that gives them the whole month of June and July prior to coming into camp.

“So they’ll have no restrictions (in the fall). A good eight weeks leading into camp, we feel really good about it. Those are probably the two big ones I would say.”

Perkins was impactful from the moment he stepped on campus at LSU, recording 145 total tackles (26 for loss), 13 sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defended and seven forced fumbles in his first two seasons. He earned first team All-SEC in 2022 as a true freshman and second team in 2023 and looked primed for another big year in 2024.

However, he would play in just four games before suffering the injury and recorded 17 tackles and a fumbles recovery. It was a massive blow to the Tigers defense, but it also gave Weeks an opportunity to step up as the leader of the linebackers group.

Weeks ended last season with a team-high 125 tackles (10 for loss), 3.5 sacks, one interception and two forced fumbles. He earned first team All-SEC as a result and, combined with Perkins, will give the Tigers one of the best linebacker duos in the conference heading into 2025.

LSU is coming off of a 9-4 finish in the third season under Kelly and looking to bounce back after ranking 11th in total defense and 14th in scoring defense in the SEC after last season. With the news that Perkins and Weeks will both be ready to go at the start of the year, they’ll have a good chance to do so.