There are a certain select players at Oklahoma who can really be touted as the ones who led to the defensive turnaround. Ronnie Perkins is among that group.
As soon as Perkins arrived for the 2018 class, you could see bigger and better things were going to be coming for him in the future.
Despite a rocky road to get there, Perkins earned his way into being selected 96th overall in the 3rd round by the New England Patriots in the NFL Draft on Friday evening.
Perkins started flying up Draft boards during the offseason, making nobody second-guess his decision to leave OU early. The choice paid off.
2020 stats: 24 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks
Career stats: 99 tackles, 32 TFLs, 16.5 sacks
Back when Perkins committed to OU in October 2017, it was one of those that was like is this something the Sooners can really do? Perkins just was the type of guy OU had been missing out on in previous years. Coming close but finishing oh-so far.
He made imprint early, and you knew he was something different and was going to be someone OU fans were quickly going to love.
Even despite the NCAA suspension, it didn’t change the way people viewed Perkins. And when he returned to the field, he was just playing at a level few OU defensive linemen have played at in a long time.
There were definitely discussions about his size and whether there is a true NFL position for Perkins and that can be decided later, but what everybody knows is his ability to produce when he’s on the field.
He might not have gone in the first round, but he’s a first-round type of talent that should have a very successful and long career in the NFL.
Best game
2020 vs. Oklahoma State: 41-13 win. Aggressive, violent and fun are the three words to describe Perkins on this night. He was in another world, just dominating. The stats don’t even tell the story with five tackles, three for loss and two sacks. It was so much more, an attitude that OSU simply had no answer for. Perkins was a beast for his six games, but nothing tops this Bedlam blowout.
Coach says…
“He’s been a tremendous player for us since the day he walked on the field, walked in the door. He’s a natural football player. He’s not really a rep guy, he’s just good at everything you want him to do. He’s got really strong physical skills, a tremendous athlete. He’s got a fire and passion to play football. That’s one of the things we get asked the most is at the end of the day does this guy love football? Ronnie is one of those guys you can unequivocally say loves football.
“He loves every part of it. He loves to train. The process of practicing and improving and the competitiveness, the better and more competitive the environment is, the more he rises his game up. He’s a tremendous football player that’s going to get a lot better.” – OU head coach Lincoln Riley
