Elite Texas Target Harold Perkins To Visit Austin This Weekend

One of the nation's top linebacker, Harold Perkins, is making his way to Austin this weekend for a visit

The Texas Longhorns have been red hot on the recruiting trail since new head coach Steve Sarkisian took over at the helm in January. 

On Friday, the Longhorns got even more good news, when elite Cy Park (Cypress, TX) linebacker Harold Perkins changed his plans to visit Austin instead of Texas A&M this weekend for the Longhorns tilt against Rice, per a report from Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports.

Perkins, who is rated as the No. 3 off-ball linebacker, and the No. 37 overall prospect in the nation by SI All-American, is one of the most exciting and coveted players in the 2022 class. 

Perkins moved his visit from College Station to Austin due to a conflict with his own game at Cy Park, which was rescheduled for Saturday.

That said, Perkins is still very high on what Sarkisian and Pete Kwiatkowski are building in Austin. 

“I fell in love with the scheme,” Perkins told Wiltfong. "I mess with Sark. I think he hung around (Nick) Saban a lot. When I talk to Saban he don’t mumble and stumble and make mistakes when he’s talking. I noticed that with Sark too. They’re very careful in their words. They don’t second guess themselves. They’re just professional. I think that’s really good. Sark I also like his energy. I told him in college I want to be free. I don’t want to be handcuffed, I just want to go out and do what I do. At the end of the day I’m wild, I just want to have fun and play. He told me he’ll let me do that."

A natural fit in the Longhorns' new scheme, Perkins would be able to fill the box safety/linebacker hybrid role in defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski's defense. But more importantly, he is a big fan of the defensive staff.

“The defensive staff they love me, I felt the love," Perkins told Wiltfong. "I felt it was real. I can tell the difference between real and fake. My mom raised me that way. My mom felt it was real and she told me she loved it.”

In the past two seasons with Cypress Park on defense, Perkins has accumulated 93 total tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, six quarterback hurries, 13 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception, a blocked punt, and a blocked field goal in just 20 games.

A dynamic athlete, Perkins also amassed 983 yards and 14 touchdowns on 96 carries (10.2 YPC) in just 10 games in his junior season at running back.

You can view SI All-American's John Garcia's full scouting report of Perkins below:

Few linebacker tapes are as fun as Perkins's. The Texan lines up at running back and off the ball on defense, where his vision, overall athleticism and play-making instincts can take over. As a linebacker, he is comfortable down hill, works well in the wash and explodes through contact. Perkins attacks the football under control with true pop, with seemingly the speed to keep up with wide receivers to boot. He'll need to fill out his frame to combat a collegiate running game, but the space skill is right there among the best at the position. 

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