How LB Micah Parsons is having a ‘Saquon Barkley’-esque impact on the Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons smiled at the notion of being called a “Defensive Saquon.”
It’s an apt comparison. For every offensive accolade that Lehigh Valley native Saquon Barkley earned while in Happy Valley, Parsons — a Harrisburg native — is pulling down just as many on defense. The only difference? Even Barkley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, didn’t become a consensus All-American until his junior year; Parsons earned that as a sophomore.
“If you get compared to Saquon, I feel like that’s got a great ring,” Parsons said Friday, during media day in Beaver Stadium.
Parsons, who played defensive end and running back in high school, has fast become one of the nation’s top linebackers and has the potential to be remembered as one of Penn State’s greatest — not unlike Barkley. Parsons was the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and a finalist for the Butkus Award while, in 2016 as a sophomore, Barkley was the conference RB of the Year and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award.
Barkley was often compared to all-time Penn State great Curt Warner, while Parsons has garnered plenty of comparisons to legend LaVar Arrington. And Parsons doesn’t shy away from those expectations.
“I got to be the best of the best because I saw Saquon do it,” Parsons added.
Every time Parsons walks into the locker room, he said he stares at the All-America photos of past Penn State greats lining the hallways. He told fellow linebacker Jesse Luketa, before he even laced up his cleats for his first game, that he wanted to be on that wall one day, with the likes of Barkley and Arrington.
He will now, although his photo hasn’t been hung just yet. “But I’ll take a selfie with it” when it is, he said with a smile.
“Sometimes, it still doesn’t feel real,” Parsons added. “Every time Coach Franklin calls me to tell me something new, I’ll be like, ‘Man, that’s so crazy.’”
His teammates aren’t that surprised.
In the weight room, Parsons often glances at the speed and strength records posted in the corner — such as the 40-yard dash and the bench — and then shoots for those marks. He races against the receivers just to push himself. And, when different players took turns jumping rope one day, Parsons needed to one-up them. There was just one small problem: Parsons couldn’t jump rope. And the sophomore linebacker couldn’t stand it, so he set his focus on getting better.
“Suddenly, he’s a master of the jump-rope,” defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos said. “He’s just competitive as hell, and his work ethic is phenomenal.”
Players spoke similarly of Barkley, who was also a perfectionist. When Barkley scored five touchdowns against Pitt in 2016, it was a fumble that dominated his thoughts — one that he said he replayed at least 20 times later that night. When Parsons made an immediate impact as a freshman, he still wasn’t satisfied. He strolled into his defensive coordinator’s office at least once a week, begging him to be more critical and asking what he needed to improve.
Parsons puts a lot on his shoulders, but so did Barkley. And, if Barkley did it, Parsons feels like he can, too. “He’s kind of the reason why I’m here right now,” Parsons said, referring to Barkley. “I’d say 75% was the coaches and the staff and tradition, and I’d say 25% was Saquon.”
In 2017, Barkley sat down with Parsons and told him an ideal career at Penn State would set him up for life. Would set up his family. And now Parsons can’t go bowling — “I’m a big-time bowling guy,” Parsons said — without a fan bringing in some memorabilia for him to sign.
Parsons’ road has almost come full circle now. He respected Barkley, Barkley recruited him, Parsons developed into a national name, and now Parsons is doing the recruiting.
“He’s our No. 1 recruiter,” defensive recruiting coordinator Terry Smith said Wednesday. “One thing that Micah really helps is that, as a former five-star guy, it’s a different world. It’s like going to try to date a movie star. Well, if I’m not a movie star, I can’t go date Halle Berry, right?
“But Micah can go relate to the five-star guy because he knows that world, and they respect that world. So Micah helps us tremendously recruiting our high-profile guys.”
Barkley’s success helped lead to the signing of four top-10 running backs. Since Parsons committed, the Nittany Lions have picked up the nation’s top 2019 LB prospect (Brandon Smith) and the No. 5 2020 LB recruit (Curtis Jacobs).
Parsons, the first consensus All-American since Barkley, labeled his career so far a “good start.” But there’s a lot left on his to-do list.
“My vision’s almost there, but it’s not complete yet,” said Parsons, who leads the team with 95 tackles, 20 more than the runner-up. “When I committed here, I said I wanted to bring Big Ten titles and national titles.
“So I feel like it’s a good start — but it’s not complete yet.”
