SEC Football Top 150 Players: No. 134, LaDarius Perkins, Mississippi State RB

Starting April 2, the SEC Blog will be counting down the top 150 players for 2012 in the SEC.

No. 134: LaDarius Perkins, No. 27, Running Back, Mississippi State

2011 Stats: 87 carries for 422 yards and two touchdowns; 13 catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns; 16 kickoff returns for 363 yards

Strengths

Perkins is known as a burner who can score from anywhere on the field. He has enjoyed a solid two years as Vick Ballard's backup, and has made a name for himself as one of the SEC's premier changeup running backs and kick returners.

Weaknesses

He has not been an every-down back in the SEC. However, with Ballard gone, Perkins is obviously next in line for the Bulldogs. At 5'10" and 195 pounds, he's not incredibly small—he has just been used like a small back throughout his career.

2012 Prediction

Perkins is going to get the first crack at becoming Mississippi State's first-team running back, but don't count out sophomore Nick Griffin to get a significant amount of carries. At 6'0" and 225 pounds, Griffin can be a between-the-tackles bruiser, and might take some carries away from Perkins.

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