Perkins: From Youngest Sibling To Veteran Leader
August 20, 2015 | General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
As the youngest sibling in a family with six children, Joshua Perkins spent his younger years looking up to the older members of his family.
Now a senior at Washington, the tight end has come full circle with many of the Huskies' younger players – especially those at Perkins' position – looking up to the veteran who is in the middle of his fifth fall camp.
“I'm just trying to show the young guys the ropes,” Perkins said with a smile. “I'm the leader of the group. I have to teach the young guys how we do things here at Washington.”
So, with each drill and every snap, Perkins makes sure Washington's tight ends know their releases, where their hands should be and where they should be looking. While he waits for his reps, he watches and teaches.
He tries to do what his older siblings did for him when he was younger.
“I'm come from an athletic family, so I look up to all of them,” Perkins said.
In fact, when asked about to share a story unrelated to football, Perkins brought up his sister, Angel.
“She kind of put Gahr High School (Cerritos, Calif.) on the map,” he said.
Angel was a star on the track in high school, winning a Junior Olympics title in the 100 meters in 2000, and the 100 and 200 meters in 2001. In fact, when she was just 15 years old, she earned a trip to the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Perkins ran track until he made his way to Washington. His father, Harold, coached track, so all of his siblings spent time with the sport.
These days, though, Perkins' focus is on football.
“I'm primed for a good season,” he said. “We've been working very hard all summer, just trying to prove everybody wrong. Nobody thinks we're going to do anything this year, but that's just outside noise to us.
“Everybody is buying into the system. Everybody is having fun with each other, mingling with each other. There aren't any cliques on the team. Everyone's together.”
As a junior last season, the tight end caught 25 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns.
He now plans to make his last season, his best season.
