LIVE! From the Manning Center: Suntarine Perkins has the attention of his Ole Miss teammates, too
The hype surrounding Ole Miss star freshman Suntarine Perkins isn’t just coming from outside the walls of the Manning Center.
It’s coming from inside, too.
Veteran Rebel safety John Saunders was asked about Perkins on Monday — when Saunders, as well as Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and second-year running back Quinshon Judkins, held court with local media to usher in LSU week.
The Rebels are 3-1 (0-1 SEC) on the season following a 24-10 loss at Alabama over the weekend. The Tigers (3-1, 2-0), meanwhile, rallied to beat Arkansas.
“I’ve been seeing him since he got here,” Saunders, an off-season transfer addition from Miami (Ohio), said of Perkins. “He’s a ballplayer. It doesn’t matter how young he is; he’s got speed, he can get around the field.
“I’m excited that he’s a part of this team and helping us make plays.”
Ole Miss safety John Saunders, Jr. (Photo by Bruce Newman)
Perkins was ranked by On3 in the 2023 recruiting class as one of its rare, Five-Star Plus+ prospects.
He led Ole Miss in tackles (9) against Mercer, his college debut, though he was restricted to special teams at Tulane due to discipline. He flashed again in a win over Georgia Tech.
But his true coming-out party came Saturday. Perkins, at times, was a primary spy of dual-threat Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Mostly, though, he was a disruptor. He made his first tackle, a sack, on the game’s second play from scrimmage. He finished with four total, even adding another sack later on.
Frankly, Perkins and the rest of the Ole Miss defense seemingly did enough in a low-scoring affair. But there’s always blame to spread around when losses happen, and as Saunders pointed out, the defense has its problem areas, too.
The Rebels, for example, currently sit No. 12 (out of 14 teams) in the SEC in opponent first downs. They’re not getting off the field enough.
“I feel like we played decent,” Saunders said. “We left a couple of plays out there; a few third downs. I wish we could have gotten off the field quicker if we had executed like we’re coached to do.
“Wish we could have limited a few more of their big plays. We played decent, though, overall. But a few things we could have done better.”
Here’s everything Saunders, Kiffin and Judkins had to say on Monday.
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