Staying Home: Suntarine Perkins, the State’s No. 1 Recruit, Stays Locked In With Rebels
OXFORD, Miss. – National Signing Day 2023 is off and running, and Ole Miss is making some noise. Most notably, Suntarine Perkins, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Mississippi, has officially signed with the Rebels.
Suntarine Perkins, the No. 1 recruit in the ‘Sip, is officially an Ole Miss Rebel!! @suntarine 🔥#NSD23 #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/o1ndqn2Ejq
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) December 21, 2022
Alabama did its best to get the stud linebacker to flip, but despite the Tide’s best efforts, Perkins elected to stay committed to the Rebels and sent in his National Letter of Intent at 7:52 a.m.
He was true to his word as back on December 11 he tweeted: “At this point I want to let the world know that I’m locked in and 1000% going to Ole Miss.”
Perkins who played both sides of the ball in his senior season — and was phenomenal — was recruited for his defensive prowess at linebacker. He finished his final high school season with 92 tackles, five sacks, four interceptions and a forced fumble.
In a nod to Perkins’ dual-threat ability, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin tweeted the following after Perkins signed.
Can do it all! Might have to steal you from the defense to play a little Runningback 😂 Thanks for staying home @suntarine pic.twitter.com/CBSHYmr78O
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 21, 2022
In the state championship game, where he was named MVP of his winning Raleigh High School team, Suntarine notched 378 total yards, four touchdowns, and an interception.
Ole Miss commit Suntarine Perkins leads Raleigh to state championship, compiling 378 total yards, himself, four TDs and a crucial interception en route to being named MVP of the title game! @MissKYUS2011 has more on @suntarine’s amazing performance. https://t.co/i16MBNbV5K
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) December 3, 2022
Perkins was equally impressive in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game, where he was named MVP for Mississippi.
Ole Miss LB commit Suntarine Perkins (#4) capped off a great week at Alabama-Mississippi with some eye-popping plays in Saturday’s game showing high-end range and physicality. Obvious stock up prospect for @On3Recruits https://t.co/slJW6JowAS pic.twitter.com/PaEFcGncIZ @Zach_Berry
— Charles Power (@CharlesPower) December 13, 2022
WATCH: Raleigh LB Suntarine Perkins (Ole Miss commit) was literally everywhere in the MS/AL All-Star Game, leading the 'Sip Boys with 10 total tackles. The closing speed is elite
(@suntarine/@Lane_Kiffin/@MacCorleone74/@RivalsNick) pic.twitter.com/6UNtLJwRuN
— Jeff Haeger (@TheJeffTakeWXXV) December 13, 2022
Perkins joins a class that is currently ranked No. 26 in the nation by On3.
Also signed so far today are: Ayden Williams, Daniel Demery, Braxton Myers, Ethan Fields, Jamarious Brown, Kedrick Reescano, Skielar Mann, Javontay Conner, and the leader of the recruting class, Brycen Sanders. And the Rebels aren’t done yet!
Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for live updates throughout the day. Hotty Toddy!
Austin Eldridge
Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.
