Micah Parsons talks football mentors, idols growing up

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons looked up to some of the greatest in the game en route to his terrific rookie season in the NFL.

Parsons, a native of Harrisburg, PA, was a five-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That five-star rating made him the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, as well as the No. 1 linebacker in the class and No. 1 recruit out of the state of Pennsylvania. He opted to stay local for college, committing to James Franklin at Penn State, and had a terrific two-year career with the Nittany Lions, ultimately forgoing his third season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While growing up in Pennsylvania, Parsons said he looked up to some of the greatest linebackers of that generation for inspiration in his eventual NFL career; he said that he admired how some of the multi-faceted middle linebackers were able to cover all parts of the field and size up anyone on the opposing side.

“When I was coming out (of Pennsylvania), Devin White was setting the standard. You look at Luke (Kuechly) setting the standard for linebackers before he retired,” Parsons said. “You’re looking at players that played the position at an elite level and are fast like Bobby (Wagner). Those fast, make-a-lot-of-plays linebackers were who I was looking at.”

Micah Parsons reveals moment when he knew he could make it NFL

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had an excellent rookie campaign for the Dallas Cowboys, one that saw him etch his name into NFL record books.

Parsons, 22, became the first player in franchise history to win Defensive Player of the Year, with the Cowboys’ only other Rookie of the Year winners — Calvin Hill (1969), Tony Dorsett (1977), Emmitt Smith (1990) and Ezekiel Elliott (2016) — winning it on the offensive side of the ball. According to Parsons, there were a few moments in his rookie season that stood out, when he finally realized that he had what it takes to be a star in the NFL.

“There were a couple defining moments for me. The first moment was in camp. I was pass rushing and going through some team drills against the best of the best. I think we have the best offense in the NFL. I thought I was doing well hanging (with those players), learning and developing, doing very well. I was like, ‘Okay, I can play at this level,’” Parsons said, via CBS. “There was a moment early in the year when I got my first sack and we won our first game (against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2). And midway through the year I said, ‘Man I’m here for a reason. Let me just be me. No more thinking, just play.’” 

Parsons played college football at Penn State and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, as the Cowboys used the 12th-overall selection, and Parsons emerged into an immediate star. He first made a huge impact in the Cowboys’ season-opening loss to the Buccaneers; while the Cowboys lost, 31-29, Parsons amassed seven total tackles (three solo stops) in his first NFL game, along with half a sack. Parsons finished the season with 64 total tackles, 13 sacks, which ranked sixth in the NFL and three forced fumbles.

Parsons was named to the Pro Bowl in his first NFL season, a big accomplishment in its own right, but he took it a step further on Thursday by taking home the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award, too.

The Cowboys frequently lined him up at both linebacker and on the edge, and the results were consistently dominant. Given his performance in all facets of the defense, Parsons has had his eyes set on more than just winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award for quite some time.

Parsons said weeks ago that if he were to only play edge rusher, he’d be an 18-20 sack player. Further, with his current production alone, he said he believes he should be in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Parsons, a native of Harrisburg, PA, was a five-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. That five-star rating made him the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, as well as the No. 1 linebacker in the class and No. 1 recruit out of the state of Pennsylvania. He opted to stay local for college, committing to James Franklin at Penn State, and had a terrific two-year career with the Nittany Lions, ultimately forgoing his third season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parsons finished in just two years at Penn State tied for seventh in program history with six forced fumbles and tied for fifth in Nittany Lions’ history with four forced fumbles. Additionally, he had 192 tackles (100 solo stops), 19.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and five passes defended in two seasons.