It was a bitter pill to swallow for LSU football when the news came out that preseason All-American Harold Perkins Jr. would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL.
After an exciting freshman year, expectations were high for his second collegiate year of football. But as we know, that was a rough year for the Tigers’defense.
However, with a whole new defensive staff, including a defensive coordinator in Blake Baker, Perkins was destined for another great year.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse against UCLA. Perkins went in to make a tackle on wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant. It was an awkward hit, and you could see Perkins’ knee buckle. He couldn’t get up. 
When Perkins left the game, many hoped it wasn’t anything serious, but LSU announced in the coming days that it was.
This could be some of the worst news of the season, especially for a defense that is still unproven and struggling to establish its identity.
However, in football, others have to step up. You don’t have time to sulk and complain. When your name is called, you have to go out and perform, and that’s what the defense did Saturday against South Alabama, particularly the linebackers.
Greg Penn III, the veteran of this defense and who wears the iconic No. 18, stepped up and led the unit.
A career high in tackles with 14, including seven of them being solo tackles, made for one of the best games of his career. Flying to the ball and being involved in every play earned him the game ball after their win. 
However, he dedicated the success to a team effort rather than him taking the spotlight.
“I just think it was guys executing,” Penn said. “Doing their jobs, playing fast, trusting what they see really. Just playing simple. The gameplan we came in was really simple, so we can really play fast and trust what we see.” 
That has been the focal point for this defense. When everyone can do their jobs from the defensive line to the secondary, everything starts to click, and that’s what happened against the Jaguars. The defensive line was able to allow guys like Penn to make plays on the ball. 
Before, the defense was centered around Perkins, and rightfully so. He is an excellent talent who came out of the gates swinging his freshman year.
But as you watch the game without Perkins, you see Penn is more comfortable at linebacker commanding the defense, and it’s not just him.
Sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks also played a great game on Saturday with nine total tackles and four solo tackles. 
Weeks has been a guy that this coaching staff has been trying to get on the field in different formations and packages. However, now with the injury to Perkins, Weeks gets that chance to prove himself as the other linebacker next to Penn. 
If there is one thing that is obvious about Weeks, it’s the emotion and fire he plays with. There were a couple of plays where Weeks got into the backfield and was visibly fired up, including a big-time hit on South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez on 4th-and-goal where his helmet even flew off. 
“That’s the best feeling in the world,” Weeks said. “You’re thinking, ‘Make a play, make a play,’ and when you’re able to make a play, it gets exciting.”
Running to the sideline, jumping around and screaming — that’s the energy he brings to the team, and it’s contagious. Both Penn and Weeks have built a chemistry with each other from a season ago, and their relationship continues to grow stronger.
“We played together before. Last year we had a couple of games where it was just me and him. I think we just feed off each other,” Penn said. 
That’s the type of relationship a team wants with its linebackers, especially after losing a key player.
It was especially important against a team in South Alabama that was poised to be tricky.
The Jaguars rank No. 20 in the country for total offense and even scored 87 points against Northwestern State a few weeks ago. The Tigers, though, were able to contain them, only allowing 333 yards, and held them to 28% on third down conversions.
The defense success was centered around the two guys in that linebacker core, and with the toughest part of LSU’s schedule coming up, the Tigers might’ve found themselves a dynamic duo.