VYPE Recruit Spotlight: Cypress Park's Perkins sees stock skyrocket with offers from LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama
HOUSTON – Cypress Park football has its first big-time recruit.
The infant football program just completed it second varsity season in 2019 – going 3-7 overall – and on it was sophomore Harold Perkins.
Perkins pops up all over the stat sheet for the Tigers. He passed the ball a few times, he rushed it 31 times for 268 yards and two scores. He even caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. And even returned some kicks for a total of 550 all-purpose yards in 2019.
But it's the defensive prowess of the sophomore outside linebacker that has caught the attention of college recruiters.
Last year he finished with 46 tackles, four sacks, one interception, seven pass deflections, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt.
As the spring recruiting season emerged the offers started to come. Baylor was the first on March 26. Then Tulsa on April 2. Then the floodgates opened.
Since April 6, Perkins has received offers from USC, Arkansas, Texas, University of Houston, Oklahoma, SMU, defending National Champion-LSU, Texas A&M and most recently Alabama.
"Honestly it was a big surprise," Perkins said about his recruitment taking off via text. "I just remember talking with my 7-on-7 coach after working out and he was telling me to prepare for a big weekend after Texas offered me. Sure enough the next day it was like a movie."
The day he's referring to was Friday, April 10.
Perkins' phone was lighting up. Five Division I offers rolled in in the matter of hours – including two from teams that were in the College Football Playoff last year.
Houston, Oklahoma, LSU, SMU and Texas A&M all offered on that Friday, the day after the Texas Longhorns offer.
"It was definitely crazy," Perkins said. "I was excited about all of them, honestly. It felt really good to get the LSU offer just because I'm from New Orleans. But getting Texas A&M, OU, Texas, Houston, SMU and LSU all within 24 hours had me excited period."
Perkins' family moved to Houston when Hurricane Katrina hit in the early 2005.
Most of Perkins' family has moved back to New Orleans since then, but his decided to stay in Houston, which didn't set well with him at first.
"I was so upset, I hated being in Houston until coach Larry from Houston Defender Basketball got me more active," Perkins said. "It really allowed me to settle in and find things to love in Houston. It also allowed me to meet two of my best friends Donovan Green (Dickinson TE) and Jaiden Robertson (Dekaney).
"I thank coach Larry because I might not have met them or linked up with my coaches and teammate on my 7-on-7 team the Houston Storm. I'm just really thankful. Most people see Katrina as a tragedy, but I found some light within the storm."
As the offers have rolled in, Perkins says every college has talked to him about playing mostly outside linebacker. Alabama offered him as an athlete.
When talking with each coach, Perkins has a list of questions he asks.
The list ranges from 15 to 20 questions, including ones about what the team GPA is and what the percentage of students graduating from the program is.
"It lets them know I'm big on grades and can the school help in the process of me becoming a man and can you prepare me for the next level, whether it's football or not," Perkins said.
The recruiting attention on Perkins doesn't only help him in his future but can benefit his teammates as college recruiters come around to see him, they also see them and other athletes across all sports.
"It means a lot to me that I could be the first one out of all the great athletes at our school right now," Perkins said. "I honestly wouldn't be at this point without any of my teammates or coaches at Cy Park. I hope it opens the door for a lot more people, girls and boys included."