Meet UCLA's Paul Perkins, the Most Explosive RB You've Likely Never Heard of

All UCLA needed was a little momentum in its 17-7 win over then-No. 12-ranked Arizona, Bruins running back Paul Perkins said. 

His five-yard touchdown run gave UCLA the spark its offense needed to complement a stingy defensive effort and score the Bruins a crucial Pac-12 South win. 

Who better to provide the nation's No. 18 team with some momentum than a player who's ridden his own wave of it to a standout season?  

Perkins opened 2014 behind Jordon James on the depth chart, tabbed to fill the same change-of-pace role he provided as a redshirt freshman in 2013.

But with the Bruins run game sputtering in the first half at Virginia during Week 1, Perkins got the call. He responded with 80 yards and never looked back. 

"The start of the second half against Virginia, he just kind of came alive," head coach Jim Mora said. 

Indeed, Perkins has surpassed that 80-yard mark in every game subsequently, save one, and has efforts of 126, 137, 180 and 190 yards. 

But Perkins first showed he had the ability to take on the every-down role last season against Washington, the Bruins' opponent this Saturday. He went for a then-career-high 86 yards in a 41-31 UCLA win. 

Now the undisputed linchpin of the UCLA running attack, Perkins is second in the Pac-12 with 1,074 yards, just 50 fewer than USC's Javorius "Buck" Allen. Perkins will have the opportunity to become UCLA's first conference rushing champion since Karim Abdul-Jabbar in 1995. 

Perkins already joined Abdul-Jabbar as just the 13th Bruin to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season.  

Player	Season	Yards	Carries
Johnathan Franklin	2012	1,734	282
Karim Abdul-Jabbar	1995	1,571	296
Gaston Green	1986	1,405	253
Freeman McNeil	1979	1,396	271
Wendell Tyler	1975	1,388	208
Theotis Brown	1978	1,283	211
Skip Hicks	1997	1,282	258
Karim Abdul-Jabbar	1994	1,227	210
Kevin Williams	1991	1,141	191
Kermit Johnson	1973	1,129	150
DeShaun Foster	2001	1,109	216
Maurice Jones-Drew	2004	1,107	160
Chris Markey	2006	1,107	227
Freeman McNeil	1980	1,105	203
Theotis Brown	1976	1,098	200
Gaston Green	1987	1,098	206
Paul Perkins	2014	1,074	171
Johnathan Franklin	2010	1,061	214
Skip Hicks	1996	1,034	224
Wendell Tyler	1976	1,003	181

Perkins may be writing his name in the UCLA record books, but he's doing so quietly. Pac-12 running back counterparts Allen and Washington's Shaq Thompson have garnered Heisman Trophy buzz from national outlets, the latter of whom doesn't play the position full time. 

Conversely, Perkins flies under the radar. Even this week ahead of facing Washington, Mora fielded more questions on Tuesday's teleconference call about linebacker Myles Jack's role in the run game than he did about Perkins' play thus far. 

Eric Risberg/Associated Press

But that seems to suit Perkins just fine. He is as quick to deflect individual praise as he is to run through a hole. 

Take his assessment of reaching the 1,000-yard mark. UCLA's offensive line has endured its share of criticism for allowing 29 sacks this season, but Perkins credited the sometimes-maligned unit's performance for his own success. 

"The [offensive] line is having a tremendous year. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys," he said. "I'm so happy for them. This 1,000 yards is really for them, but it just gets put on me." 

Don't let Perkins' modesty fool you, though. His own explosiveness has certainly contributed to the impressive numbers he is putting up three-fourths of the way through his sophomore campaign. 

He ranks ninth among all Football Bowl Subdivision players with 33 runs of 10-plus yards, including carries of 58, 81 and 92 yards.  

Talk about giving the offense momentum. 

On those highlight-reel plays, Perkins looks like he's back in the Phoenix area playing for Chandler High School.  

He hasn't limited his explosive plays to the ground, either.

With 20 catches on the season, Perkins has proved to be a favorite receiving target of quarterback Brett Hundley. He also gave backup Jerry Neuheisel a reliable presence when Neuheisel was thrust into the lineup in Week 3. 

"That’s the prerequisite to play in these styles of spread offenses," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said. "You’ve got to have a kid who can catch the ball at running back. We're not an I[-formation] team where we just hand it to them, hand it to them, hand it to them, then just throw to our receivers." 

Perkins' pass-catching ability proved critical three weeks ago in a 36-34 win at Cal, where he hauled in touchdown receptions of 16 and 49 yards. 

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

His efforts might go somewhat unrecognized, but Perkins is playing a starring role in UCLA's pursuit of the Pac-12 championship. The Cal game was the first of two must-win decisions in which he scored a pair of critical touchdowns. 

The touchdown run against Arizona gave Perkins his fifth score during the Bruins' current three-game win streak. And in helping UCLA to beat the Wildcats, Perkins helped move it one step closer to the Pac-12 South title. 

"We can sense we're on the verge of something great," he said. "We've got to keep pushing and hopefully everything will line up for us." 

Continuing the positive momentum UCLA has now is vital to win out, which the Bruins likely must do in order to earn the division's bid into the Pac-12 Championship Game. 

It's fortunate, then, that Perkins has a formula for keeping it going. 

"Come in Sunday and Monday, watch the film and grow from it," he said. 

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com.