LSU’s struggle to find the right niche for über talented linebacker Harold Perkins is still a work in progress.

Perkins led the Tigers with nine tackles in the opener against Southern Cal Sunday.

But for a speedy defensive weapon best known for creating chaos behind the line and in the passing lanes, it was a fairly quiet night for the junior. He had no sacks and was credited with one solo tackle and one-half of a tackle for a loss of 1 yard.

Perkins burst on the scene two years ago as a disruptive freshman all-American, mostly at outside linebacker, but somewhat less effective last year as the Tigers moved him back and forth from the inside.

LSU moved him around on Sunday. But under new defensive coordinator Blake Baker, the staff determined he will be most effective in the middle.

“I like him right where he is, right?” head coach Brian Kelly said. “I like him inside the core of our defense.”

Kelly suggested it’s not the where but the how that might be holding Perkins back.

“What Blake talked to him about, and what Blake and I talked about, is we need to get him to narrow his focus a little bit more.”

Meaning?

“He has a tendency that he wants to do a little bit too much,” Kelly explained. “He’s so eager to want to make plays because we’ve put him in that playmaker position.

“When you work in the areas that he works your focus has to narrow down a lot more … getting his eyes trained in a different way will be the big improvement we see from Week 1 and Week 2.”

Kelly is confident that Perkins can get back to the mischief capable of terrorizing defenses.

“I’m going to say that you’re going to see a huge improvement now that he’s played in the box in a game,” Kelly said. “We can get his focus narrowed and get his eyes to where they need to be. Once we get that, it’s going to be a bit of a different look. And I think that’s going to help him immensely.”

a WOUNDED TIGERS: Sixth-year senior running back John Emery is likely done for the season after a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered Tuesday in practice.

Emery, whose career has been marked by absences caused either by injuries or academic ineligibility, tore the same knee that ended his season last November after seven games.

Emery was LSU’s leading rusher in the season opener against USC with 61 yards on 10 carries, including a 39-yarder in the third quarter, the longest run of the night. He also had a 10-yard reception.

Otherwise, LSU struggled on the ground with 120 yards on 25 carries.

Aside from Emery, the Tigers had 53 yards on 15 carries , an average of 3.5 yards per run.

Emery’s injury leaves the Tigers with three running backs — another sixth-year senior in Josh Williams, sophomore Kaleb Jackson and freshman Caden Durham, who did not have a carry against USC.

Emery entered the NCAA transfer portal after last season, but eventually returned to LSU.

Emery arrived at LSU as a promising freshman in 2019, scoring four touchdowns for the Tigers’ undefeated national championship squad that season.

He sat out all of the 2021 season for academic reasons.

He has appeared in 38 games in his college career, rushing for 1,123 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The No. 18 Tigers host Nicholls State on Saturday night.