Charles Perkins is becoming the leader Wisconsin football needs up front
Charles Perkins considered leaving Wisconsin this offseason. Now the veteran defensive lineman is emerging as a leader for the Badgers.
Charles Perkins had a decision to make this offseason.
After spending his first season with the Wisconsin football program in a limited role, the veteran defensive lineman briefly explored his options in the transfer portal before ultimately deciding to return to Madison.
Five practices into fall camp, that decision looks increasingly important for both sides.
The 6-foot-2, 333-pound redshirt senior has emerged alongside Hammond Russell at the top of Wisconsin’s defensive line rotation during fall camp, with position coach EJ Whitlow praising Perkins for more than what he’s providing between the tackles.
“I would say that the biggest thing with Perk right now is his leadership,” Whitlow told reporters. “He’s done a heck of a job this offseason, this summer, of putting himself in position, taking care of the team, taking care of his body, getting stronger, getting bigger. And it’s really showing.
“He’s playing with an edge. He’s playing with aggressiveness right now, and he’s really leading that unit.”
It’s a considerably different role than Perkins occupied a year ago.
The Memphis (Tenn.) native arrived at Wisconsin after earning first-team All-Big South-OVC honors at UT Martin in 2024, when he recorded 40 tackles, 19 pressures, nine tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 14 games.
That production didn’t immediately follow him to the Big Ten.
Perkins appeared in eight games last season but logged just 73 defensive snaps, finishing with six tackles and two tackles for loss. Four of those tackles and both TFLs came during a breakout performance against Indiana late in the season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Perkins earned a 62.9 overall defensive grade, including a 61.5 mark against the run and a 57.1 pass-rush grade.
Now Wisconsin is asking him to turn those flashes into consistency.
“Each and every day I bring my A game,” Perkins said. “I try to stay very consistent. Every day I want to elevate my game, not drop my game. So being very consistent, I feel like I had a great first week.”
Perkins also understands that his fifth season of college football comes with different expectations.
“Be a leader and a role model to the guys in the room,” Perkins said. “It’s my fifth season of college football, so I know what it feels like to put the energy on the guys. I know what it feels like to be a role model. I know what it feels like to be a leader.”
Wisconsin doesn’t necessarily need that leadership to come with 50 or 60 snaps every Saturday.
Whitlow wants a legitimate rotation up front. Russell and Perkins have established themselves as key contributors, while Buffalo transfer Junior Poyser and Nolan Vils are among the next options. Dillan Johnson and Appalachian State transfer DeNigel Cooper give the Badgers additional bodies with different skill sets that they can mix and match with.
Perkins believes that’s precisely what can make the group work.
“Having a mismatched D-lineman, that’s a W for us,” Perkins said. “I take pride in every D-lineman that we got in the room.”
His partnership with Russell should remain central to that rotation.
“Me and Ham always told ourselves, every time we step on the field as a duo, we’re going to stop the run and stop the pass as well,” Perkins said. “Nobody is running through our gap. We bleed that. That’s our DNA, that nobody comes through that A or B gap.”
That’s the opportunity Perkins returned to Wisconsin for.
A year ago, Perkins was trying to carve out snaps in a reconstructed defensive line while battling through some early injuries of his own. Now he’s 333 pounds, playing with what Whitlow describes as a different edge and being asked to set the tone for everyone rotating behind him.
For a player who considered finishing his career somewhere else, Perkins has instead positioned himself to play his biggest role yet at Wisconsin.
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