Harold Perkins is best used as a missile. Instead, LSU used him as a drone.
To put it bluntly, LSU schemed its best player out of the game. After week one, it’s clear LSU has a lot to improve before they face any tough competition—but does Harold Perkins’ usage have to be evaluated before Mississippi State?
Did Perkins’ utilization have an impact on the game, and did it affect the Tigers chances of winning? LSU had some evident issues week one, but one of the most concerning was how it chose to employ its best player.
Perkins has the athletic ability to pressure the quarterback from anywhere. He’s a looming threat from wherever he lines up, but his ability to get to the quarterback wasn’t the issue. Rather it was the staff’s comfort with Perkins being stagnant.
LSU had Perkins in a low zone acting as a quarterback spy, as a way to manage Jordan Travis and make him unable to scramble for a big gain. Perkins covered the weak side of plays, the side away from the action, to prevent the opposing team from switching to the other side and potentially score.
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The staff had Perkins fake rushing the passer, had him play actual coverage- as compared to the low quarterback spy zone he was playing, they even had him on the defensive line prior to the snap before dropping back into coverage. The one thing he barely did was actually go after the quarterback.
Brian Kelly and the Tigers are planning on using Perkins as a true linebacker this year. This decision could pay off, but choosing to strip Perkins of his best attribute is choosing to not play your most efficient football.
Efficient football typically increases your odds of winning, and having Perkins play other styles of football is profitable. However, scheming plays that are dependent on the opposing team believing he will rush is a problem.
Kelly addressed the media Tuesday, and when asked about Perkins, He explained that Perkins is in a brand-new position this year, a more complex position with more responsibilities and less dependent on raw athleticism.
“He’s learning how to play linebacker for the first time,” Kelly said. “We put him in a position last year where he was see ball, get ball.”
To his credit, if Harold Perkins can play linebacker as well as he can get to the ball, he could become one of the most dangerous players in college football. However, not allowing a player to do what made him so dominant is a questionable decision.
Kelly then went on to describe all of the new responsibilities Perkins has at linebacker, mentioning the growing pains he could face. True linebackers do have a lot of responsibilities. LSU’s coaching staff recognizing that Perkins is going through growing pains is respectable, but doing nothing to address those issues is a major problem.
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The issue is the same reason play action passes won’t work if you don’t run the ball. If you never run the ball, the opposing team has no reason to bite on a play action.
If you never rush, teams have no reason to bite on fake blitzes or disguised alignments. When teams can easily account for your best player, you’re in trouble. It’s even worse when the opposing team doesn’t have to account for him because you’ve already schemed him out of the play.
With 5:52 left in the third quarter, and FSU on its own nine, LSU rushed three players on second and 14. The defensive line had four people, with Ovie Oghoufo dropping into coverage and the other three linemen rushing.
Jordan Jefferson applied pressure from the inside before flexing out to sweep back in, Sai’vion Jones worked from the outside and Mehki Wingo drove his blocker inside before facing a double team.
All-in-all, the three-man rush gave Travis four seconds to get set and throw the ball. Travis throws and completes a forty-yard-bomb to Keon Coleman.
So where was Perkins?
Perkins was acting as the spy on this play, where he stood five yards from the action as Travis wound up and unloaded. Removing your best pass rusher from the action is a questionable decision but removing him on plays that can determine a game’s outcome is questionable coaching.
An elite offense like Florida State can easily take advantage of their lack of chemistry with time. If they have time to develop plays, they can cause talented corners to lose routes. The lack of pressure and lack of involvement from Perkins had a serious impact on the game.
On Perkins’ second rush, he got to Travis in less than a second; that same play resulted in a touchdown to Coleman. Pressure doesn’t necessarily mean that LSU would’ve won, but Travis was forced to make that throw in less than two seconds.
Shortening the time Travis has to throw allows Chestnut and Alexander, two new corners for the Tigers, to rely more on their man coverage skills and not be picked apart by slow developing plays. Giving Travis a relaxed pocket and time to read the field instantly put the odds in FSU’s favor.
LSU has to evaluate how they intend to use Perkins this year. Football is a game of odds. If Perkins applies pressure, and that pressure also causes the offense to over analyze what he’s going to do next, LSU’s odds of winning could skyrocket.
Pressure shortens the time for plays, the timing on throws and the complexity of the offense. If teams can’t read Perkins, the offense is more likely to make a mistake that could stall or end their drive.
The Tigers’ percentage of victory increases when Perkins is optimized. When he’s forced to be stagnant or negate the best element of his game, LSU begins to lose one of their best players.
If LSU finds the “sweet spot” to Perkins’ pressure to coverage ratio, their chances of winning will increase for the entire season.
