STARKVILLE — LaDarius Perkins isn’t just excited about having one more game to this college career. He’s thrilled to have one rare healthy game to his senior year.
Since the first game against Oklahoma State in Houston, Perkins has been hampered with nagging injuries whether it’s been a ankle, ribs, concussion or lower back. The injuries have more than limited him to just 495 yards on the ground. Perkins’ 3.99 yards per carry are the lowest of his MSU career by nearly a years a touch.
“It feels so satisfying to not only being playing in a fourth straight bowl game but also to be playing in a game without any physical concerns,” Perkins said.
The injuries made it impossible for Perkins to keep his promise to the coaching staff to be involved prominently in the special teams element as the punt returner.
“LaDarius Perkins is part of a group that did something no class in this program has ever accomplished,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “We’ve talked all the time about being a leader of creating something. Everything after this class will be trying to replicate.”
After the announcement that MSU (6-6) would be playing Conference USA champion Rice (10-3) in the 2013 Autozone Liberty Bowl, Perkins revealed injuries were a major topic of conversation with the friends of his 5-year senior class.
“(Mississippi State senior quarterback) Tyler Russell and I have a class this year together and we would talk on our way a lot about injuries and the outside criticism of him and us from all kinds of people,” Perkins said. “It’s been frustrating for a lot of seniors this season.
Despite safety Nickoe Whitley (knee) and Russell (shoulder) both being medically ruled out for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, 11 other MSU seniors were suited up Saturday to prepare for the final game of their college careers.
The difference in the eyes of the seniors is the emotional high after back-to-back overtime wins to get into a postseason game.
“Individual numbers aren’t what we’re about here and these seniors have withstood a lot of adversity and are leading this team in some way on and off the field,” Mullen said.
In one of those overtime victories at Little Rock, Perkins was forced to watch his teammates rally to a fourth-quarter comeback after his body helicoptered into the end zone.
The violent collision caused a minor concussion and lower back issue for Perkins as he was able to jog off the field.
However, Mullen turned to sophomore Josh Robinson for the energy as a explosive back. Robinson has averaged 5.52 yards for carry and scored a touchdown in the 17-10 win over Ole Miss in the regular season finale.
“There’s no jealousy or concentrating about who gets carries, yards and touchdowns on this team, none,” Robinson said. “LaDarius Perkins is somebody I’ve learned from the moment I got here to Starkville. He’s the guy where you watch him take reps and practice and my coaches have said ‘hey, do it like that’.”
Robinson said this early bowl preparation has been more than beneficial to his future as Perkins has taken the leadership role similarly to how a veteran Vick Ballard did with a underclassmen Perkins two years ago.
“We think we have a chance to win a SEC championship next season and can challenge for a national title and I know after this season, that sounds weird,” Robinson said. “We think the talent is there.”
As the complete opposite to their Southeastern Conference opponent, Rice has Rice has won 15 of its last 18 games overall thanks to a veteran roster with 23 seniors including 19 fifth-year players.
“I think we’re a lot more athletic than people realize going into it and so much of it is because of our senior leadership with young men that have invested four or five years into this program,” Rice coach David Bailiff said.
As a sophomore, Perkins established himself as a dynamic offensive weapon in a 52-14 win over Michigan in the 2011 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. MSU will need the same element of play from Perkins and Robinson now that all the skill position players in the Bulldogs backfield are completely healthy.
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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