A Long Way From Home

Texas. Florida. Ohio. Alaska? While the 49th state to join the Union may not exactly be high on the list of high school football hotbeds in America, one rising high school senior from the state’s capital city is rapidly climbing the charts of several schools’ recruiting boards.

Jack Perkins, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker/fullback prospect out of Juneau Douglas High School in Alaska was one of the west’s biggest recruiting surprises of the spring, when he dominated the National Underclassman Combine in Boise, Idaho on April 4th. Posting an impressive 4.68 second 40-yard dash, a 30.5-inch vertical leap, and 4.48-second shuttle drill time, Perkins proved that he was far from just a compiler on the small school level, finishing the combine as the “Overall MVP” for prospects from the class of 2010.

Taken together with an impressive list of accolades to include All-State honors on both offense and defense for the 2008 season (the only junior in the state to accomplish such a feat), it comes as no surprise that Perkins has seen his recruitment pick up as of late, with an invitation to the Nike Ultimate 100 camp in Los Angeles already in the mail.

As far as his plans for June are concerned, Perkins said in a recent interview with ArmySports.com that he plans to visit several west coast and interior west camps, with his final stop coming in the Eugene, Oregon at the Nike Training Camp on June 13th.

Perkins, who played tackle on offense last year but will switch to fullback for Juneau Douglas in 2009, said that although most of his interest has come from the likes of western schools like Washington and Idaho, he has also received his fair share of attention from the likes of Princeton and Army. An outstanding student with a 24 ACT score and a resume filled with AP courses, Perkins singled out The United States Military Academy as one of his early favorites.

“Army is definitely high on my list but I am also very interested in other schools which have shown interest in me,” explained Perkins in a recent interview with ArmySports.com. “My coaches have spoken to [Army defensive coordinator] Payam Saadat at West Point and I will stay in contact and maybe visit this fall. Our season is over in mid-October (it begins in early August) so I hope to visit in late fall.”

Perkins does not currently have a scholarship offer, but he is hopeful one will come after his trip in June. Aside from Montana State and Princeton, he also reports interest from FCS schools Southern Illinois and Missouri S&T.

Stay tuned to ArmySports.com all summer as we bring you the latest on Jack Perkins’ recruitment.

Perkins Video: Watch Video