LSU loses star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. for remainder of 2024 season after knee injury

Perkins suffered what is believed to be an ACL tear in Saturday's win over UCLA

LSU Tigers star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. is expected to miss the rest of the 2024 season due to a knee injury he suffered during LSU's win over UCLA on Saturday, a source tells 247Sports and CBS Sports. The injury is believed to be a torn ACL.

It's a devastating blow for Perkins and the Tigers. The former five-star recruit was a preseason first-team All-SEC selection and has 162 career tackles with 13 career sacks. Perkins had been viewed by NFL scouts as a potential early-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. It is too soon to know whether Perkins has played his last snap as a Tiger.

Perkins burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2022, enjoying tremendous success as one of college football's most disruptive pass-rushers: Thirteen tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He tied the school record with four sacks in one game and was a fourth-team All-American, not to mention first-team True Freshman All-American. 

The Tigers moved Perkins to a role as a box linebacker in 2023 and 2024, a controversial move in Baton Rouge as it dimmed Perkins' impact, though his body projects much better to linebacker than edge in the NFL (he's listed at 6-1, 220 pounds). In 2023, Perkins posted 5.5 sacks. He has not been credited with any sacks in 2024.

Perkins is clearly talented and highly athletic, but scouts have questions about his size (and how he'd be best utilized, including from a position standpoint, at the next level.

CBS Sports draft analyst Ryan Wilson believes Perkins is first-round material and most recently had him mocked to No. 19 overall. 

LSU's defense ranks No. 103 nationally in yards allowed per play (six). The Tigers play South Alabama on Sept. 28, then have a bye before hosting Ole Miss.