Perkins, Wingo Among Walter Camp Preseason All-Americans

BATON ROUGE – LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo have been named to the Walter Camp Preseason All-America team for 2023, the organization announced on Friday.

Perkins, a rising sophomore from New Orleans, was named to the first team, while Wingo, a rising junior from St. Louis, was selected to the second team.

Both players had breakout first seasons with the Tigers. Perkins led the Tigers in tackles for loss (13.5), sacks (7.5) and quarterback pressures (14). He tallied 72 total tackles.

He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2022 and earned National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win over Arkansas. He capped his rookie season with the Tigers earning Freshman All-America honors as well as being named first team All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC.

Wingo, a transfer from Missouri, established himself as one of the nation’s top run stoppers in 2022. In 14 games, Wingo racked up 47 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and three sacks. He broke up four passes, had five QB hurries and was responsible for creating three turnovers.

Wingo started LSU’s final 13 games, moving into the lineup when sophomore Maason Smith was lost for the season in the first quarter of the season-opener against Florida State. Wingo responded by rarely coming off the field, playing over 700 snaps for an LSU defense that rated among the best in the SEC.

A Freshman All-SEC selection in 2021 at Missouri, Wingo earned third team AP All-America honors and was a second team All-SEC selection in his first season at LSU in 2022.

Walter Camp is the nation’s oldest college football All-America team. Walter Camp, “The Father of
American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Typically announced in early December, the Walter Camp All-America teams are selected by the FBS head coaches and sports information directors.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Pos., Name, School, Ht, Wt., Class, Hometown
WR, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Ohio State, 6-4, 2-5, Jr., Philadelphia, PA
WR, Rome Odunze, Washington, 6-3, 211, Jr., Las Vegas, NV
TE, Brock Bowers, Georgia #, 6-4, 230, Jr., Napa, CA
OL, Joe Alt, Notre Dame #, 6-7, 317, Jr., North Oaks, MN
OL, Olu Fashanu, Penn State #, 6-6, 323, Jr., Waldorf, MD
OL, Cooper Beebe, Kansas State, 6-4, 332, Sr., Kansas City, MO
OL, Graham Barton, Duke, 6-5, 311, Sr., Brentwood, TN
C, Drake Nugent, Michigan, 6-1, 300, Gr., Lone Tree, CO
QB, Caleb Williams, USC, 6-1, 220, Jr., Washington, D.C.
RB, Blake Corum, Michigan, 5-8, 210, Sr., Marshall, VA
RB, Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss, 5-11, 210, So., Pike Road, AL
PK, Joshua Karty, Stanford, 6-2, 207, Sr., Burlington, NC

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Pos., Name, School, Ht, Wt., Class, Hometown
DL, Jared Verse, Florida State, 6-4, 248, Jr., Dayton, OH
DL, Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois #, 6-2, 295, So., St. Petersburg, FL
DL, Dantay Corleone, Cincinnati, 6-2, 320, So., Cincinnati, OH
DL, Bralen Trice, Washington, 6-4, 267, Jr., Phoenix, AZ
LB, Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State #, 6-2, 239, Gr., Cleveland, OH
LB, Jermiah Trotter, Jr., Clemson, 6-0, 230, Jr., Hainesport, NJ
LB, Harold Perkins, Jr., LSU, 6-1, 220, So., New Orleans, LA
DB, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama, 6-1, 195, Jr., Birmingham, AL
DB, Kamren Kinchens, Miami, 5-11, 202, Jr., Miami, FL
DB, Calen Bullock, USC, 6-3, 190, Jr., Pasadena, CA
DB, Kalen King, Penn State #, 5-11, 190, Jr., Detroit, MI
P, Kai Kroeger, South Carolina #, 6-4, 220, Sr., Lake Forest, IL
KR, Jaylin Lucas, Indiana *, 5-9, 185, So., Houma, LA

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Pos., Name, School, Ht, Wt., Class, Hometown
WR, Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State, 6-1, 205, Jr., Steilacoom, WA
WR, Xavier Worthy, Texas, 6-1, 164, Jr., Fresno, CA
TE, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota, 6-7, 270, Sr., St. Cloud, MN
OL, Zak Zinter, Michigan, 6-6, 315, Sr., North Andover, MA
OL, Christian Haynes, Connecticut, 6-3, 305, Sr., Bowie, MD
OL, Beaux Limmer, Arkansas, 6-5, 306, Sr., Tyler, TX
OL, JC Latham, Alabama, 6-6, 335, Jr., Oak Creek, WI
C, Zach Frazier, West Virginia, 6-3, 306, Jr., Fairmont, WV
QB, Drake Mayer, North Carolina, 6-4, 225, So., Huntersville, NC
RB, Braelon Allen, Wisconsin, 6-2, 236, Jr., Fond Du Lac, WI
RB, Raheim Sanders, Arkansas, 6-2, 237, Jr., Rockledge, FL
PK, Jonah Dalmas, Boise State, 5-8, 172, Sr., Meridian, ID

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Pos., Name, School, Ht, Wt., Class, Hometown
DL, Mykel Williams, Georgia, 6-5, 265, So., Columbus, GA
DL, Mekhi Wingo, LSU, 6-1, 295, Jr., St. Louis, MO
DL, Chop Robinson, Penn State, 6-3, 253, Jr., Gaithersburg, MD
DL, Leonard Taylor, Miami, 6-3, 305, Jr., Miami, FL
LB, Jason Henderson, Old Dominion, 6-1, 225, Jr., Dingsman Ferry, PA
LB, Barrett Carter, Clemson, 6-1, 225, Jr., Suwanee, GA
LB, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia, 6-1, 245, Jr., Hyattsville, MD
DB, Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo #, 6-0, 200, Jr., Williston, FL
DB, Ben Morrison, Notre Dame, 6-0, 179, So., Phoenix, AZ
DB, Malaki Starks, Georgia, 6-1, 205, So., Jefferson, GA
DB, Cole Bishop, Utah, 6-2, 206, Jr., Peachtree City, GA
P, Tory Taylor, Iowa, 6-4, 230, Sr., Melbourne, Australia
KR, Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State #, 5-10, 185, Sr., Philadelphia, PA

(Release via LSU Athletics)