Cowboys choose Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons 12th overall in 1st round

Linebacker Micah Parsons hasn’t played a meaningful snap since Dec. 28, 2019, when he helped Penn State defeat Memphis in the Cotton Bowl.

But Parsons’ decision to opt out of the 2020 season didn’t discourage the Dallas Cowboys from choosing the Harrisburg native 12th overall in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Listen as the #DallasCowboys call @MicahhParsons11 to tell him that he is officially a ?

? Secret Audio presented by @ATT pic.twitter.com/urj5ErZR8S

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 30, 2021

“This is all I ever wanted,” Parsons told Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after the pick, SI.com reported.

After a brief conversation, Jones handed the phone to coach Mike McCarthy, a Pennsylvania native who grew up in Greenfield.

“Linebacker U, you have to keep the tradition going,” McCarthy said (referring to Penn State). “From one PA guy to another, I’m looking forward to getting you down here. You’re a great fit for us, young man.”

The Cowboys traded down from No. 10 with the Philadelphia Eagles and still got their man. Parsons slides into the Cowboys defense after it lost another Penn State linebacker when Sean Lee (Upper St. Clair) retired this week.

Parsons, the first linebacker and third defensive player selected Friday, is the 37th Penn State product drafted in the first round and the first since running back Saquon Barkley went second overall to the New York Giants in 2018. He is the first Penn State first-round linebacker since LaVar Arrington (North Hills) in 2000.

Parsons played only two seasons of college football after he signed with Penn State as a five-star prospect in the class of 2018. He graduated from Harrisburg High School as the No. 6 player in the nation in a class that included quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields as the top two players, according to Rivals.com rankings.

As a freshman at Penn State, Parsons (6-foot-3, 246 pounds) totaled 82 tackles, four for a loss, and 1¹⁄₂ sacks. He was a consensus All-American as a sophomore in 2019, with 109 tackles, 15 for loss, five sacks, four forced fumbles and 26 quarterback pressures.

In the 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory, he recorded 14 tackles (seven solo) and three TFLs. That season, he was named the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year and first team All-Big Ten.

“Micah Parsons is the best defensive player in this draft based solely on tape,” ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. “I think he’s going to be a star in the league. I really do.”

The Cowboys drafted Parsons, despite some character issues stemming from charges of hazing and harassment and an alleged fight with a former Penn State teammate.

“Obviously, people had some concerns about things that had happened,” Parsons, 21, said last month in a story published by SI.com.

“But at the end of the day, I was a kid. I was 17-18. We all made mistakes when we were 17-18.

“I’m not going to let it control or dictate the person I am now. I’m not going to let something that happened four years ago dictate who I’m becoming and the father I want to be.”

He made those comments after his astounding performance at Penn State’s Pro Day where he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash. Since 2000, only five players weighing more than 240 pounds have run a sub-4.4 40, according to SI.com.

Parsons told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted to play for Penn State last season.

“But my family made the decision,” he said. “For a long time, it wasn’t clear what the Big Ten was going to do. I had already started training (for the draft) in September when they said they were going to play after all.”