Grandson of Dallas Cowboys legend Don Perkins finds coaching success at Oregon State
Oregon State football enters Friday's Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Notre Dame with an interim defensive coordinator as veteran Anthony Perkins has been working closer with the whole unit.
He was given the title after defensive coordinator Trent Bray was promoted to head coach to replace Jonathan Smith, who left to take the job at Michigan State.
Perkins is the grandson of legendary Dallas Cowboys running back and former University of New Mexico star, Don Perkins. Don rushed for 6,217 yards in 107 games with the Cowboys from 1961 to 1968 and earned multiple pro bowl selections.
Perkins returned to the Albuquerque area after his pro football career was over. He later worked as a television and radio football analyst.
"Don Perkins was a great player as a collegian at New Mexico with the Dallas Cowboys," Anthony Perkins said. "But his biggest impact went beyond football and being a great father, being a great great grandfather, being a great friend and using his platform to make an impact. Football is what he did, but it wasn't who he was."
Said linebacker John McCartan: "Coach Bray is around and here for us. Coach Perkins is a great coach and he'll have an unbelievable game plan. He's great to be around."
This will be Anthony Perkins' fifth bowl game as a player and assistant coach. He played collegiately at Colorado where he finished with 236 tackles as a defensive back. He has coached at Indiana State, Ohio and Colorado State on the college level and in the NFL with Tampa Bay.
Oregon State in last week as Pac-12 team
The Beavers are representing the Pac-12 for the final time in a bowl game. After the breakup of the conference, Oregon State and Washington State were the last teams remaining after other squads in the conference went elsewhere.
"We just control what we can control," place-kicker Everett Hayes said. "It was weird, but we just take it week by week."
Added defensive back Jack Kane: "With the conference falling apart, it showed a lot about the people in our locker room and who they are. It was a bummer to see what happened, but it's about one more game with these guys and we want to end the season on a high note."
Bowl success again on Dec. 29 for OSU?
The last time Oregon State played on a Dec. 29 in a Sun Bowl came in 2008 when it rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Missouri, 39-38, in the 73rd edition of the Sun Bowl. The Beavers outscored the Tigers, 18-7, in the final 15 minutes.
Matt Moore completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Joe Newton to cut the Tigers lead to 38-37, then Yvenson Bernard scored on a two-point run to give the Beavers the win.
More Oregon State bowl news
Thirteen of the Beavers' previous 19 bowl appearances have come since the 1999 season. Oregon State is 8-5 in bowl games since 1999.
Derek Anderson holds the Oregon State single-game record with 358 pass yards against Notre Dame in the 2004 Insight Bowl.
Bernard holds the OSU record with 177 rush yards against Maryland in the 2007 Emerald Bowl, while James Newson's 165 receiving yards against Pittsburgh in the 2002 Insight Bowl is the program's standard.
More: Sun Bowl News Next man up: Sun Bowl coordinators adjusting to new personnel after opt-outs
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X (Formerly Twitter)
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Oregon State football's Anthony Perkins blazing own trail as coach
