Suntarine Perkins earns preseason All-American honor, solidifying he is a centerpiece of Ole Miss defense
There is nothing shocking with the fact that Suntarine Perkins will be a key player on the Ole Miss defense in 2025. The junior defensive end/linebacker hybrid is setting himself up for a big Fall.
Those outside the Ole Miss football program are already on board with this with Perkins continuing to earn preseason honors and All-American accolades.
Earlier this month Athlon revealed its preseason All-American teams in its Summer preview magazine and Perkins earned Second Team honors at linebacker.
Perkins is one of four second team All-American linebackers, joining Ohio State’s Sonny Styles, Georgia’s CJ Allen and Kansas State’s Austin Romaine.
First team linebacker honors went to Anthony Hill, Jr. of Texas, LSU’s Whit Weeks, Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis and Taurean York of Texas A&M.
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Perkins is one of two returning starters on last year’s defense, joining fellow linebacker T.J. Dottery. He is coming off a sophomore season where he played more than 200 snaps and tied Princely Umanmielen for the team-leading 10.5 sacks. He also finished with 60 tackles and is the second-leading returner in that category behind Dottery’s 76.
Once again Perkins is listed at linebacker on the Summer roster currently on the official Ole Miss website but look for third-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding to continue make Perkins a utility player and threat on the outside of the line of scrimmage in 2025.
The stock is already rising for Perkins when it comes to the 2026 NFL Draft. He is currently projected by both CBS Sports and ESPN as a potential first round pick. The Raleigh, Mississippi native is coming off labrum surgery which caused him to miss Spring drills but the Ole Miss Spirit has learned he is full go during Summer workouts this month.
Ole Miss opens the 2025 season against Georgia State on August 30 at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
