HOUSTON – In almost movie-like fashion, it was at the stroke of midnight of National Signing Day that Harold Perkins knew where his next home would be.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Which, for Perkins, is really a return to home.
The Cypress Park five-star athlete sat down behind a table inside his Cypress home on Wednesday afternoon. Hats for Florida, Texas A&M and LSU sitting in front of him.
When the time came, the once Aggie-commit, which he did during the Under Armour All-American game on ESPN in January, picked up the maroon hat and gave it a look before putting It back down.
“I’m going home,” Perkins said with a smile.
BREAKING NEWS: @CyParkFootball 5⭐️ @HP113k is “heading home” as he picks up A&M hat but then puts on @LSUfootball hat!!! Perkins is heading to LSU. Brian Kelly gets a huge get!! #txhsfb #NationalSigningDay #NSD22 @CyFairISD @ahverdejo @CFISDAthletics @Perroni247 @KPRC2RandyMc pic.twitter.com/i9XqardMYo
— VYPE Houston (@vypehouston) February 2, 2022
With the eruption of cheers of his family behind him, Perkins pulled on the purple LSU hat and officially joined Brian Kelly’s first recruiting class.
“At the end of the day, I make my own wave, I don’t join the wave,” Perkins said about choosing LSU over Texas A&M. “That’s that.”
This past season for Cy Park, Perkins was a force on both sides of the football. He finished his senior season with 1,194 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns. In seven of the 10 games, he busted loose for over 100 yards. Defensively, he had a career-high three interceptions and one pass deflection.
"Without my teammates none of this would be possible," Perkins said. "I thank all my teammates, my offensive line and defensive line and everybody else that was around me too."
Perkins when asked if he would see the offensive side of the ball said that LSU could have some packages, but he will mainly focus on defense in college.
"I'm going to play a little bit of everything [on defense]," Perkins said. "I'm not really putting restrictions on myself."
According to Perkins, he will be enrolling at LSU in June and officially join Brian Kelly's first-ever signing class in Baton Rouge.
Perkins is joining a class in which he is the lone five-star prospect, according to 24/7Sports. He joins four-star signees, Will Campbell (OL), Walker Howard (QB), Quency Wiggins (DL), Emery Jones (OL), Laterrance Welch (CB) and DeMario Tolan (LB) as a part of the class.
The class is currently ranked fourth in the SEC and 12th nationally, according to 247Sports.
"I like the class I'm going to be a part of," Perkins said. "Everybody has different personalities. Everybody has a chip on their shoulders. I like playing with dudes that have a chip on their shoulder and who are hungry. I'm hungry right now, I'm ready to eat."
