Harold Perkins hated living in Houston but understood his mother was trying to give him an opportunity to succeed.
Perkins was only 2 when his mother, Bertha Walton, moved them from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. He doesn’t remember much, but his mother will never forget lying on the floor of her sister’s house, the storm rolling through and the walls shaking.
She remembers feeling as though the roof was going to blow off, and she remembers the family deciding to cross the street to a neighbor’s house for more safety.
Her brother, who was a local police officer on duty, texted the family that if he didn’t make it through the storm, they should know he loves them.
Terrified, the family ran through the rising water to cross the street to the neighbor’s house. Bertha’s brother made it out alive along with the rest of Walton’s family, but it wasn’t without consequence to homes, property and mental anguish.
Because of the devastation, Walton, Harold and his two younger siblings fled to Houston in what was initially going to be a temporary move.
“When we went back to visit [shortly after the storm passed], there were still dead bodies with pieces of 2-by-4 saying the person’s name and the date they were found,” Walton said. “I didn’t want to bring my children back into an environment like that. I would go and visit and say, ‘I can’t bring them back in this environment with the crime and now the condition everything is in.'”
Sometimes you just have to take what you want👹 🦍 #BullyBall @espn @sctop10 @SportsCenter @VarsityWires @vypehouston @247Sports @Rivals @Perroni247 @MikeRoach247 @samspiegs @CyParkFootball @Storm7v7 pic.twitter.com/sUcJ2a7PmE
— Harold Perkins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@HP113k) October 11, 2020
At the time, Perkins didn’t understand why they were being taken away from his family, his cousins with whom he was close, and why he had to make a new home. Through elementary school and even into middle school, Perkins was unhappy with his location, but soon understood the reasoning for his mother’s decision.
His older brother, Perky, had stayed back in New Orleans to finish high school. Perky had scholarship opportunities to play football at a few college programs but let his grades fall in the final years of high school and saw those scholarships fade away.
Perky’s football career ended after high school, and Walton didn’t want that to happen to Harold, so she kept a close watch on him and held strong to her convictions that Houston was the right place for her son and her other children.
“It’s easy to get in trouble in New Orleans and where we were at, so I get what my mom was doing,” Perkins said. “I hated Texas with a passion and I wanted to go back to New Orleans. I still don’t like it, but I know there are better opportunities here than in New Orleans.”
A small portion of the opportunities included sports, which Perkins excelled at from a young age.
Football came naturally to Perkins, but he loved basketball growing up. Both he and his mother thought that would be the sport where scholarships would flow. He started in AAU ball in middle school, worked his way up and started to gain recognition on the court.
“I played football my freshman year and quit. I told coach that I’m a basketball player,” Perkins said. “My head coach said, ‘Are you sure you’re a basketball player?’ So I almost didn’t play my sophomore season, which was my breakout season, but my coach knew I would come back and realize football was important to me.”
Luckily for Perkins, his high school coach allowed him back on the team and he turned heads his sophomore season. Offers started rolling in and he has worked his way up to the No. 10 overall ranking in the ESPN 300 for his class.
“My head coach said, ‘Are you sure you’re a basketball player?’ So I almost didn’t play my sophomore season, which was my breakout season, but my coach knew I would come back and realize football was important to me.”
Linebacker Harold Perkins, the No. 10 prospect in the Class of 2022
He’s the No. 1-ranked outside linebacker and has Texas A&M, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida, Oregon and LSU, among others, pursuing him. Perkins is planning to visit Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, and either Texas or Oklahoma in June.
With so many top programs after him, he knows his mother’s decision to move the family to Houston is a big part of his success. He might have still flourished in New Orleans, but he knows his mother sacrificed to give him the best chance to succeed at the highest level.
“I was always told he would be blessed as far as sports,” Walton said. “But to see him move as fast as he does, it’s mind blowing. I just tell him to stay on the path that I raised him on and to stay persistent.”
Visits in June
Perkins isn’t the only prospect taking visits in June. The NCAA announced the recruiting dead period will be lifted on June 1, allowing recruits to visit campus during a quiet period until June 28. Another dead period will start June 28 and run through July 24, after which prospects are once again allowed on campus.
College coaches are anticipating floodgates to open as recruits and their families are anxious to get on campus after over a year of the dead period because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes some of the top prospects in the Classes of 2022 and 2023. Five-star offensive tackle Tyler Booker, the No. 9-ranked recruit overall, said he will take visits to Florida on June 4, Oregon on June 14, Georgia on June 18, Ohio State on June 21 and Alabama on June 25.
Fellow five-star Jeremiah Alexander, the No. 11-ranked prospect overall and the No. 2-ranked defensive end in the class, will also be traveling in June: to Clemson on June 1, Georgia on June 3 and UCF on June 11.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen is the No. 2-ranked prospect overall and has already planned visits to Michigan and Florida in June.
Nolen has taken visits to campuses in the spring, but was not allowed to talk to the coaches or interact with the program in any way. He has a top eight that consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and USC, and will likely take more visits as the schedule applies.
White, a defensive end, is ranked No. 40 overall in the ESPN 300 and is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Pennsylvania. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, White is being targeted by some of the biggest programs in the country.
He narrowed his list down to eight on Tuesday: Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas A&M.
Noticeably missing from that group is Penn State, which has not signed the top in-state recruit since Micah Parsons in the 2018 class. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Clemson signed the top prospect in Pennsylvania in the past three classes, and it now seems as though that streak will continue if White does not alter his top list.
Everette is a 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from IMG Academy who announced his top five on Thursday.
The list includes Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon.
He’s ranked No. 48 overall in the 2022 class and is one of the top cornerbacks as well. Everette is planning to visit Georgia on June 18 and will likely plan more visits to his list.
LSU and Georgia have separated themselves from the pack so far in the 2022 class, each with 10 ESPN 300 commitments.
Georgia has added four ESPN 300 commits since March, including athlete Malaki Starks, the No. 30 prospect overall; linebacker Jalon Walker, ranked No. 41; running back Jordan James, the No. 191-ranked recruit; and wide receiver De’Nylon Morrissette, ranked No. 288 overall.
Among the 10 ESPN 300 commitments, Georgia has eight ranked in the top 100 and is building off the momentum of the 2021 class, which finished No. 3 in the rankings.
LSU landed commitments from three ESPN 300 prospects during the same time span, including safety Jacoby Mathews, ranked No. 56 overall; tight end Jake Johnson, the No. 108 recruit; and defensive tackle Tygee Hill, who is ranked No. 276.
Of the 10 ESPN 300 commitments LSU has in the class, three are ranked in the top 100 with quarterback Walker Howard, offensive lineman Will Campbell and Mathews.
Ohio State is behind LSU and Georgia with eight ESPN 300 commitments, including Quinn Ewers, the top quarterback and top prospect overall in the class. Penn State and Notre Dame are just behind the Buckeyes with seven ESPN 300 commitments each.
Penn State finished No. 26 in the class rankings in the 2021 class and needed to bounce back in 2022. The Nittany Lions have done just that, having three more ESPN 300 commitments in the 2022 class than the entire 2021 class.
This 2022 class is led by Ohio quarterback Drew Allar, who shot up recruiting boards earlier this year and is now the No. 37-ranked prospect in the class. Penn State has three ESPN 300 wide receivers in the class as well, including Kaden Saunders, Jerry Cross and Anthony Ivey. Adding some talented playmakers on offense was much needed for Penn State.