Three Tigers Named AP Preseason All-Americans

BATON ROUGE – LSU sophomore linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. has been named to The Associated Press preseason All-America team, the news organization announced on Monday.

Perkins is joined by defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo and wide receiver Malik Nabers, who were both selected to the second-team.

Perkins, a native of New Orleans, is coming off one of the top rookie seasons for an LSU player on the defensive side of the ball a year ago with 72 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He was also responsible for creating five turnovers on his way to earning first-team All-SEC honors for the SEC Western Division champions.

Perkins earned SEC Player of the Week honors during a three-week stretch midway through the season. He was SEC Freshman of the Week for his play in the win over Ole Miss and then followed that with SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors against Alabama and Arkansas.

He was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week against Arkansas when he recorded eight tackles, three sacks and forced two fumbles in the 13-10 win over the Razorbacks.

Wingo, in his second year at LSU after transferring from Missouri, earned third-team All-America honors from the AP in 2022. He was the anchor on LSU’s defensive line, recording 47 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.

Nabers became the 10th 1,000-yard receiver in school history last year as a sophomore, leading the SEC in receptions with 72 for 1,012 yards and three touchdowns. He capped his second year at LSU earning Citrus Bowl MVP honors after catching nine passes for 163 yards and a 75-yard TD in the 63-7 win over Purdue. Nabers also threw a TD pass in the win bowl win over the Boilermakers.

2023 AP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Caleb Williams, third-year, Southern California
RB – Blake Corum, fourth-year, Michigan
RB – Quinshon Judkins, second-year, Mississippi
OT – Joe Alt, third-year, Notre Dame
OT – Olu Fashanu, fourth-year, Penn State
G – Cooper Beebe, fifth-year, Kansas State
G – Zak Zinter, fourth-year, Michigan
C – Sedrick Van Pran, fourth-year, Georgia
TE – Brock Bowers, third-year, Georgia
WR – Marvin Harrison Jr., third-year, Ohio State
WR – Rome Odunze, fourth-year. Washington
WR – Emeka Egbuka, third-year, Ohio State
AP – Travis Hunter, second-year, Colorado
PK – Joshua Karty, fourth-year, Stanford

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

EDGE – Jared Verse, fourth-year, Florida State
EDGE – Bralen Trice, fifth-year, Washington
DL – Jer’Zhan Newton, fifth-year, Illinois
DL – Dontay Corleone, third-year, Cincinnati
LB – Harold Perkins Jr., second-year, LSU
LB – Jamon Dumas-Johnson, third-year, Georgia
LB – Tommy Eichenberg, fourth-year, Ohio State
CB – Kool-aid McKinstry, third-year, Alabama
CB – Kalen King, third-year, Penn State
S – Kam Kinchens, third-year, Miami
S – Malaki Starks, second-year, Georgia
DB – Cooper DeJean, third-year, Iowa
P – Tory Taylor, fourth-year, Iowa

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Drake Maye, third-year, North Carolina
RB – Raheim Sanders, third-year, Arkansas
RB – Braelon Allen, third-year, Wisconsin
OT – JC Latham, third-year, Alabama
OT – Kelvin Banks Jr., second-year, Texas
G – Donovan Jackson, third-year, Ohio State
G – Christian Mahogany, fifth-year, Boston College
C – Zach Frazier, fourth-year, West Virginia
TE – Oronde Gadsden, third-year, Syracuse
WR – Xavier Worthy, third-year, Texas
WR – Malik Nabers, third-year, LSU
WR – Jacob Cowing, fifth-year, Arizona
AP – Will Shipley, third-year, Clemson
PK – John Hoyland, third-year, Wyoming

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

EDGE – J.T. Tuimoloau, third-year, Ohio State
EDGE – Dallas Turner, third-year, Alabama
DL – Tyler Davis, fifth-year, Clemson
DL – Mekhi Wingo, third-year, LSU
LB – Jeremiah Trotter Jr., third-year, Clemson
LB – Barrett Carter, third-year, Clemson
LB – Cedric Gray, fourth-year, North Carolina
CB – Josh Newton, sixth-year, TCU; Ben Morrison, second-year, Notre Dame
S – Calen Bullock, third-year, Southern California
S – Javon Bullard, third-year, Georgia
DB – Will Johnson, second-year, Michigan
P – Kai Kroeger, fourth-year, South Carolina

(Release via LSU Athletics)

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