Not every day does a backup running back – currently a starter – gets branded in comparisons to NFL greats like Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson, unless your name is Zias Perryman.
“I knew what kind of player we had in the Spring Game when he made a play in the open field,” said Laurel head football coach Todd Breland. “He turned inside and looked for a safety to hit. I told him that day that it wasn’t illegal to avoid contact.
“Perryman is extremely physical. He is freakishly strong with deceptive speed. He reminds me a lot of the old running backs, Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker. He is a hard-nose football player.”
Perryman joined the team late last year as a transfer from New Life Christian Academy in Magee. His only varsity experience, before this season, came against Wingfield. Perryman rushed for 18 yards on five carries.
“I’ve known his family for a long time, especially his dad,” Breland said. “With him coming in, basically after the season had already started, we had to catch him up on some classes. He had class all day long, so he missed a lot of practice time. But it was a good way to get him acclimated to the program. This year we have been able to turn him loose.”
“Our game against Callaway was my first game to touch the field [as a starter],” added the junior running back. “I grew up playing football, straight up until my eighth-grade year. After that, I didn’t play up until last year, and that was just mainly practicing.”
At any time during the offseason, there was no question on who the starting running back would be this season. And it wasn’t Perryman.
Micheal Terrell, who led the team in rushing touchdown last season with 14 as a junior, was the clear-cut favorite heading into the offseason. Then came what many considered a heavy blow to the offense moving forward.
“When we found out the news about Micheal’s injury [to his shoulder that required surgery], it was a blow to us,” said Breland. “But we knew we had a hidden gem, so to speak.”
The hidden gem was none other than Perryman.
“We had all the confidence in the world in him,” added Breland. “We saw him in the weight room and knew the kind of talent he had. But of course, we had questions on how that talent on the practice field would translate on the field.”
Those questions were answered during this year’s Media Day scrimmage “between the brick.” One play, in particular, stands out. On a run up the middle, Perryman blasted through the offensive and defensive line and met a linebacker who frantically tried to bring him down, grabbing the only thing the linebacker could grab, his facemask, Perryman never missed a beat, despite having his helmet ripped off his head.
“I’ve been looking at it in this way; this is my time,” Perryman said. “You have wanted this. So make the most of it.”
On opening week, in his first varsity start, Perryman carried the ball 15 times for 113 yards – an average of 7.3 yards per carry – and did so against a Callaway defense that boasts two Clarion-Ledger Dandy Dozens.
“He is a tremendous kid,” said Breland. “He is a great kid; he is humble. If you don’t look at him, you won’t even recognize he is on the field. That is how humble he is on the field. You never hear him.”
Perryman has 375 yards on 63 carries and a touchdown in four games played.
When Terrell returns to the field this season, Perryman will still play a heavy role on offense according to Breland.
“It’s just going to be a two-headed monster,” says Breland. “We also have Jaques Bester back there. For the first time in a long time, we are going to have three running backs that are very capable of carrying the load.”
Perryman, Breland and the rest of the Tornadoes open Region 3-5A play this week at home against county rival South Jones. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
