Reaching pinnacle in sophomore season, Parsons determined to keep building
About an hour after he’d finished with 10 tackles and a sack in a 27-6 win against Rutgers Saturday, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons searched for answers. The sophomore, named Tuesday as the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year for his performance during the 2019 regular season, acknowledged his conflicting emotions.
On one hand, he said, the Nittany Lions’ relatively lackluster performance against the Scarlet Knights would make everyone wish they’d performed better and more consistently. They'd collectively missed a chance at allowing more of the younger players an opportunity to see action. But on a senior day in which two of his fellow starters in the linebacker corps played their final games in Beaver Stadium, Cam Brown and Jan Johnson, the outcome alone was worthy of celebration and appreciation.
The issue that Parsons couldn't nail down was why the Nittany Lions didn’t perform at their bests. In a week that included the Thanksgiving holiday and an irregular practice schedule with classes out of session, Parsons had some suspicions, though.
“There (were) a lot of challenges, a lot of distractions; family and being comfortable,” Parsons said. “Maybe a lot of food that we ate could have slowed us down a little bit.”
Hadn't Rutgers also enjoyed the gluttony of the holiday, a reporter quickly asked in reply.
“I don't know if they ate the same amount,” Parsons said, grinning. “Maybe we just ate a little bit more. You never know.”
The game completed with just a bowl opportunity left on the Nittany Lions' calendar, Parsons' finishing touches on another standout season were equally fulfilling.
Accumulating 95 tackles on the year, 45 solo and 50 assisted, Parsons also made three sacks and 11 tackles for a loss to go along with three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Those, of course, were just the statistics.
In the context of Penn State’s illustrious history among its linebackers, Parsons, in this, just his second year playing the position, became the first sophomore to win the conference’s linebacker of the year honor. He’s a Butkus Award finalist and a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and earned a spot Tuesday on Pro Football Focus’ All-America first-team.
Arriving at Penn State with the lofty expectations attached to his consensus five-star status, making his mark as a freshman and now easily surpassing those benchmarks as a sophomore, Parsons has captured the attention of his fan base, the media that covers it, the coaches, media and fans throughout the conference, and made his imprint on the national college football conversation.
Judging himself against his prior performance in 2018, a year in which he also finished as Penn State’s leading tackler but started just one game, Parsons’ evaluation was that the improvements in his play were self-evident.
“I think I'm playing completely different,” Parsons said. “I think I'm playing much faster. I'm recognizing what's going on around me. I feel like I'm coming clean a lot. So things like that. I'm not second-guessing myself. I've been really trying to attack the ball this year. It just comes with experience and growth. And I just feel like I gotta keep growing.”
And, he continued, in his mind he’s just getting started.
“I think the season is very long. But I feel like when you're winning and you're around people that you love, it goes by quick,” Parsons said. “It feels like I just came in last year and now I'm at the end of my second year and I just think about how time went by… Life goes by quick.”
With the exhaustion of eligibility for both Brown and Johnson at linebacker, plus that of safety Garrett Taylor, all three captains for the 2019 season, Parsons said he intends to use his personality more to the benefit of the rest of the position group and even the team as a whole.
Already preparing for a future that is likely to include big competition among and contributions from the likes of Charlie Katshir, Brandon Smith, Lance Dixon, Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa, Parsons indicated that his leadership responsibilities will be important moving forward.
“I think I need to grow more as a leader. I feel like I need to try to help pick up the defense when we're down. Try to make that play. Try to be that voice for the guys, especially the young guys,” Parsons said. “I was just talking to Lance about what do you want to see from me next year? How can I help you grow? What would help motivate you to make you be great?”
Motivated himself to produce even further improvements on the ones that he implemented to help the Nittany Lions climb from 9-4 in his debut season to 10-2 this year, with a bowl and possible New Year’s Six appearance still on the docket, Parsons said the program's trajectory is one worthy of optimism.
“(Going 10-2) means a lot. It means we're headed in the right direction. I said last year, we wouldn't be in that predicament,” Parsons said. “I still got another two years and I feel like I can get us to where I want us to be and finish stronger.”
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