100 Days to Football Time in Oklahoma: #7 Ronnie Perkins By: Ryan Lewis Posted on: September 5, 2020

The Path to Norman

A native Missourian, Ronnie Perkins was one of the top rated defensive linemen in the 2018 class. Offered by the Sooners 14 months before his signing day, Perkins had offers from just about every program in the nation. A quick tie for him was Missouri, as the program is in his home state and his brother played there. Along with Missouri, programs including Ohio State and Texas were stiff competition for the Sooners. The OU staff tried to get the talented lineman on campus for several months; the lack of a visit and the closeness to the Texas staff seemed to indicate that Perkins was leaning toward Austin. All it took was a later October visit to Norman to seal the deal.

Career So Far

First of all, a defensive end taking #7 is a power move. Perkins followed up that power move with a freshman All-American season per ESPN. He played in every game, starting in seven of the last eight contests. As a freshman who only started in half the team’s games, he led the team with 5.0 sacks and was third with 8.0 TFL. At times, there was a very good argument to be made that Ronnie was the best Sooner defender on the field.

Perkins was the starter throughout his sophomore season at defensive end, ranking second on the team in TFL, QB hurries, and sacks. He was a big force, at times an unstoppable one. Nowhere was his presence noticed more than in the Peach Bowl, when a suspension forced him to sit out and the defensive line struggled mightily. Perkins worked his way to second-team All-Big 12 honors for the year. 

Current Profile

Position: Defensive End

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 247

Year: Junior

Stats

Stats via Soonersports.com

Highlights

2020 Season

Ronnie Perkins could break into true superstar status this year in the time he has. Expectations are high; he was named to the Big 12 Preseason team, the Bednarik Award watch list, and the Nagurski Trophy watch list.

Currently, he is still expected to be suspended for the first five games. This will leave room for guys like Marcus Stripling and Isaiah Thomas to step into that void at defensive end. It’s safe to assume, however, that when Perkins is available he will again earn those snaps. Expect Ronnie Perkins to again be a disruptive force in the Alex Grinch defense this year.