Examining Harold Perkins' Heisman hopes, potential for 2023

As college football enters the summer months, more future bets are starting to be placed. Who will win the national title? How many wins will each team have? Who will win the conference? Who will win the Heisman Trophy?

Coming off of last year’s success, it’s obvious that Caleb Williams and Drake Maye will be favored to take home the Heisman in 2023. Star skill players like Marvin Harrison and Blake Corum deserve some recognition as well, but 11 of the past 13 winners have been quarterbacks. 

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is tied for the fifth best odds of anyone in the country at +1500 to win the Heisman. However, it’s the long odds of linebacker Harold Perkins that are the most intriguing of any LSU player.

After breaking onto the scene as a true freshman as one of the top defensive players in the country, Perkins returns for year two as one of the top players in America, regardless of position. On3 ranked Perkins as the No. 7 player in college football and the No. 2 defensive player.

Perkins ended 2022 with 72 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and a sack in 14 games. Now, Perkins is tabbed as the defensive player with the best odds to win the Heisman entering 2023.

Still, his odds are incredibly long at +15000 on FanDuel, tied for the 56th best odds of winning the award.

On one hand, it makes sense. Only one defensive player has ever won the award, Charles Woodson in 1997, making it an improbable feat. However, if there’s any defensive player that can win the award in 2023, it’s Perkins — even at at 150-1 odds.

Perkins’ theoretical Heisman season

Even being a finalist as a defensive player requires an incredible year both individually and from the player’s team. Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson finished second in 2021 and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o finished second in 2012, those are the only two defensive players to finish in the top three since 1980, other than Woodson.

Perkins has the ability to truly impact winning because of his newfound versatility. The Tigers’ coaching staff has spent the past four months working to transition Perkins to an inside linebacker role, while also keeping the door open for specific pass rushing packages that would feature him on the edge. It makes it harder to account for the star playmaker on a down-to-down basis.

In theory, to be a finalist for the Heisman, Perkins first needs a season with undeniable statistical production. Considering the fact he played a limited role for the first half of the 2022 season, his statistical production was incredible. This year, he’d probably need at least 100 tackles, eight sacks, and 19 tackles for loss. Since 2000, only three players have accomplished that in a regular season.

It would have to be the highlights that truly make Perkins stand out, though. Those who watched him last year remember his games against Arkansas and Ole Miss, but he’ll need a strip sack returned for a touchdown, a pick six where he trucks a running back, or something that stays ingrained in people’s minds.

Then, LSU needs to win a lot of games. 11-1 would be the floor for Perkins to be considered. A perfect season would really ramp up the discussion. The problem is, unlike Hutchinson and Te’o, LSU has a potential Heisman-level quarterback who will warrant a lot of the credit as well. It’s hard to imagine LSU going 11-1 and Perkins getting more national recognition than Daniels. That’s what makes this scenario even more unlikely.

This is a fun hypothetical, but it’s only worthwhile because there’s a sliver of possibility. Perkins could post one of the greatest seasons for a linebacker in recent LSU history this season. Expectations are through the roof – and they should be. For the Tigers to reach their potential this season, Perkins will have to join Jayden Daniels in the discussion for best player in the SEC and perhaps the country.