Some incoming collegiate football players grumble after learning they will be red-shirted for their true freshman campaign.

You won’t hear St. James native James Perkins complaining about it, however. He credits his red-shirt year of transition into college as the main reason he was able to claim a starting position with the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats the following season.

Perkins (6-3, 235) started at tight end all season during the 2025 campaign for the SBU Bearcats, a NCAA Division II program located in Bolivar and a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) rival of Rolla’s Missouri S&T.

Under a new coaching staff, the Bearcats finished 3-7 last fall, although the team showed much improvement, particularly on offense. Perkins started nine of the 10 games, missing one contest while in concussion protocol.

Perkins caught seven passes for 34 yards and saw continued improvement as a blocker during his red-shirt freshman season.

Thanks, he said, due to the maturity, development and experience he received at his first year in Bolivar.

“Coming out of St. James, I didn’t have a good amount of personal coaching,” Perkins said. “It was good for me that I started out on the practice squad, playing against our No. 1 defense. “Playing against them every day that first year really helped. My position coach, offensive line coach and receiver coach combined to coach me to become better.”

Also gone were some players who had played tight end in 2024, opening the door for Perkins to move up the depth chart.

“Several guys ahead of me left,” Perkins said. “Two graduated and one decided not to play. In the preseason I was No. 2 (on the depth chart). Then the guy ahead of me quit football to get married.”
So Perkins moved up to the No. 1 offense and held that position his entire red-shirt freshman season.
“Normally two tight ends get in the game,” he said. “So I knew I would get some playing time. But when the other tight end quit it opened things up for me.

“Definitely I’d say my blocking aspect (improved the most). In high school I always had good hands. But whenever I got (to SBU) my blocking was off compared to others. So that’s what I concentrated on.”

There was also a change in leadership for the Bearcats. After a two-win 2024 season, SBU had a coaching turnover, as Paul Hansen took over as head coach, bringing in several new assistant coaches as well.

And although the won-loss record only improved by one win, Perkins said the team’s production went way up under Hansen.

Last season the Bearcats averaged 28.8 points per game and produced 4,070 total offensive yards, including 2,863 passing yards.

“From my first year there to my second year we got a new coaching staff,” Perkins said. “Coach Hansen came from (NAIA’s) Mid-America Nazarene and has a real good offensive mind. We produced an All-America wide receiver (Kamau Ransom) under him and transformed into an incredible running game. We were the No. 1 offense in the conference for a while last season. It definitely changed the guys from my first year to last year.”

Perkins’ former head coach at St. James, Dusty Craft, is not surprised by the progression of the Tiger alum.

“We knew as a junior, especially going into his senior year, that he had the ability to play at that level,” Craft said of Perkins. “James is a real smart kid, and we used him in different roles. And he adapted to things we asked him to do. How they used him, as a big-body tight end, worked for him. For us he had good hands, and we knew there were some things blocking wise he had to clean up there.

“Players like James coming from a school like St. James, kids not coming from a Class 5 or Class 6 school, do not get that individual coaching. They get in college and get that specialized instruction and that has helped him progress.”

Perkins, who has a double-major in accounting and economics/finance, is currently preparing for his sophomore season and is looking forward to the upcoming Bearcat spring drills.
“Now that I’m part of the offense, my goal is to better myself in all aspects,” he said. “I’ll continue to work on everything - route-running and blocking.”

Craft said that former Tigers who go on to play at the collegiate level are an inspiration to current St. James student-athletes who would like to do the same, such as current seniors lineman Josh Carpenter and all-state linebacker Zane Achterberg - both considering possible college football careers.

“James helped set that bar for us a couple years ago, along with (quarterback) Cooper Harlan, who walked on at S&T,” Craft said. “That allows our kids to see they can also play at the next level.”

At St. James High, Perkins was a two-way starter at tight end and defensive end. He missed his Tiger junior season with a torn ACL which required knee surgery, then bounced back with a strong senior campaign.

At tight end he made 33 catches for 348 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and on defense made 53 tackles with three sacks to help the Tigers reach the Missouri Class 3 District 5 semifinals during a season marred by the tragic death of Tiger teammate Ethan Parrott in a single-vehicle crash just prior to the start of the team’s postseason run.

Perkins earned 2023 Missouri Media Central All-District honors at tight end.
Prior to choosing SBU, Perkins had also looked into playing at Missouri Valley, Nichols College (Mass.), McPherson, Kan. and Missouri S&T.

His parents are Lori Perkins and Mark Perkins, of St. James.