Bryant Vincent says Harold Perkins is the best true freshman he's seen

Harold Perkins Jr. has burst onto the scene during his freshman season at LSU. He has steadily grown over his first year and it all led up to a massive performance against Arkansas last weekend. Now, ahead of his team’s matchup against the Tigers, UAB head coach Bryant Vincent made quite the proclamation about the star frosh.

During his press conference on Monday, Vincent said that, after watching his film, he believes Perkins is the best freshman he’s ever seen during his time in the sport.

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“After 12 or 14 hours of film yesterday and last night, he’s a guy that really stood out,” said Vincent. “You sit there, you watch him, and you watch all the things that he does. Whether he’s rushing the passer, whether he’s spying the quarterback, whether he’s playing coverage? This is without a doubt the best true freshman I’ve seen in my career. Without a doubt.”

Perkins has produced 52 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three pass deflections, and an interception over his first 10 career games. He has been a menace, but he was just a flat-out bully in Fayetteville. Perkins wreaked havoc with eight tackles, four sacks, both of his forced fumbles, and a pass deflection against the Razorbacks.

He has shown he can be the full package as an SEC linebacker early on. When you put everything together, Vincent knows his offense will be challenged by the best freshman he has laid his eyes on this weekend.

“He’s explosive, powerful. He can play with speed and power. And he plays with a lot of savviness,” Vincent said. “This young man is the best true freshman I’ve seen in my career.”

Perkins is a big reason why LSU’s defense ranks Top-30 in the nation. His level of production is just highly uncommon for a freshman. He’ll now be the Blazer’s problem to handle come their 9 p.m. EST kickoff in Baton Rouge.