Sam Webb: Speaking of Notre Dame, four-star South Bend (Ind.) athlete David Perkins rescinded his commitment from the Irish a little bit ago. The talk is that Michigan State is showing interest and that could get one of his official visits. Have the Spartans gained any traction in his recruitment?
Allen Trieu: Yes. They came down. They went to his game and showed that they are interested in him strongly at this point. I think they will be one of the schools that gets an official from him. They are going to have to battle with LSU and Oregon and I think Syracuse and potentially one other school like a Pittsburgh or a Missouri for his services, but I think Michigan State is very much in the picture. I'd still consider LSU and Oregon on top, but I think the Spartans do have a shot there.
Sam Webb: Perkins is an interesting player. At 6-2, 210, he has prototypical linebacker size and speed, but he can run the ball also. What position does he project to on the next level?
Allen Trieu: I think it depends on the school. For the majority of schools, I think he's an outside linebacker. I think, more and more, he's shown that in the right system he could be a tailback. That said, we have him ranked as an outside linebacker, and that's because I think his highest ceiling, in terms of making a college impact and potentially going on to the next level beyond that, is at linebacker.
Now, in a power offense like Syracuse, he's a running back. At Michigan State, the potential is there for him to be a running back, but when you look at what Michigan State has coming in already, they already have a running back commit in this class. I think they, along with most schools, will recruit him as a linebacker. He's a fast, attacking style of linebacker — similar in style to a Denicos Allen — who's great on the blitz and that's what I see Perkins doing best in college.
