BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU's top linebacker, Harold Perkins Jr., has an anterior cruciate ligament tear that will end what was expected to be his final season with the Tigers before entering the NFL draft, LSU coach Brian Kelly said Monday.

“Certainly an injury that we feel terrible about, especially for Harold and the work that he’s done,” Kelly said. “We’ll have somebody else step up. ... These are difficult, but we've got really good players that can come in.”

The injury to Perkins' right knee occurred when the preseason AP All-America selection was making a tackle in the fourth quarter of 14th-ranked LSU's 34-17 victory over UCLA.

Perkins burst into the college football limelight as a freshman during the 2022-23 season, when he had 7 1/2 sacks among 13 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and an interception.

Last season, Perkins took on a larger role, playing multiple linebacker positions, and saw a moderate dip in some of his more flashy statistics, finishing with 5 1/2 sacks among 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and an interception.

This season he had yet to record a sack, had 1 1/2 tackles for loss and had not forced a turnover in nearly four games.

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