Micah Parsons has not played a down of a physical football game since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet as mini camps, organized team activities (OTAs), and strength and conditioning have wrapped up for the 2021 Dallas Cowboys, Parsons is ready to show he is a game-changer in every sense of the word.
He is not a player who comes without recognition, either. At Penn State Parsons started only one out of 13 games in 2018. He took those opportunities and his chance to shine, leading the team in tackles with 83, including five for loss with 1.5 sacks. That earned him a Freshman All-American nod. Parsons then led the team in tackles with 109 as a sophomore including 14 for loss, with five sacks and five pass breakups, tying for fourth in the FBS with four forced fumbles and garnering first-team Associated Press All-American honors for his play in 13 games. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection and the conference’s Linebacker of the Year. Now, as a professional player, he is honest and open about his learning curves admitting he is still learning the Cowboys’ playbook.
“I would still say I’m like 50-50 right now. I’ve got a base, and I’m just building off the base of what I know and understand so far,” he said. “There’s a lot more checks and a lot more play calls here than I had before.” Working at different linebacker positions while also being moved over to the edge, Dallas may be easing him in but they are not afraid to push Parsons to show he is more than capable.
Parsons is no ordinary first-round pick. As with quite a few players in both the NFL and colleges around the country, Parsons cited personal and family COVID-19 concerns as to why he did not play football at Penn State in 2020. It was a choice many considered because the pandemic has scientists learning it leads to lasting body complications as well as issues to the heart and lungs. This has been especially true for athletes, “Cardiac abnormalities, including myocarditis, have been shown in a large portion of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Given that myocarditis is associated with sudden mortality in athletes, attention has turned to the risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 in athletic and highly active people. Researchers are seeking to establish the effectiveness of cardiac evaluation in stratifying athletes’ post-COVID-19 infection for fitness to return to training.”
Now Parsons is facing a list of new challenges, including working with a new defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, on a new team which brings in a whole new group of teammates. Much has changed for the 22-year old young man, yet, Parsons is excited.
“Right now I’m building that confidence, and I think I’m starting to get the older guys’ attention and their belief in me,” he said. “So once I get their belief and keep building up my own confidence, I think the sky is the limit for myself and this team.”
Those words do not only show Parsons himself is growing in confidence and as a player but that the team is building its’ confidence in him. This can be seen as the team moves him around the different positions. With each practice, with each minute, Parsons is striving to make his new team better by becoming the best version of himself.
Parsons is learning from those who have come before him (through tape) and those who are with him now on the field. While Parsons carries the lineage of being a linebacker for the Nittany Lions it is known his career and ability have a lot to live up to in comparison to players such as Sean Lee. Parsons seems ready to get started.
It will be August 5 when preseason games kick off but the real tests for Parsons and the team as a whole will begin September 9 in a primetime game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys are hopeful a revamped defense, led by Dan Quinn and a string of new linebackers such as Parsons, can take the previously 28th ranked defense to something much more competitive and energetic. Whether from the middle, the edge, or somewhere else on the field, Parsons has said it straight: He is ready to play.
