BATON ROUGE — Garrett Nussmeier saw what he thought was a window to sling the football through. But the trap was set.
LSU football junior linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. slid over upon Nussmeier releasing the ball, intercepting the pass for the defense during 7-on-7 drills at the team's fifth preseason practice Monday afternoon.
A little bit later, during 11-on-11s, Perkins lined up on the edge and rushed around for an easy sack as whistles blew the play dead as he touched the quarterback.
LSU FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL RANKING
The 6-foot-1, 222-pound linebacker and New Orleans native has been flying around everywhere through the first handful of practices for the Tigers this preseason. He's taken the mantle of the Star position in defensive coordinator Blake Baker 's system smoothly and the evidence is in his performance.
"I think it's a familiar role for him," LSU coach Brian Kelly told reporters following practice Monday. "Now he has a complete knowledge of the linebacker position, he's not just a guy out there running around making plays. He's so much more intentional.
"He knows the game, he knows the nuances of it. Little things he's doing are experiential, the kind of plays he's making."
Perkins is entering the 2025 season off ACL surgery. He tore the ligament against UCLA last September, but he has been on track to be healthy by June, LSU's offseason conditioning program, and he hit every benchmark during his rehab and after.
And how disruptive he's looked to open fall camp has indicated not where he is physically but what he'll be able to do for the Tigers' defense on Saturdays this season.
"Physically he's been great. Taking care of myself. Recovery day, he's a beast," Kelly said.
"He just knows that this is his year. All of those things have allowed him to be really, really focused and not distracted by anything."
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Why 2025 will be Harold Perkins Jr.'s year with LSU football
