Micah Parsons shines at Penn State Pro Day, says he has talked with Steelers

For years during their time together at Penn State, Micah Parsons and Jayson Oweh competed to see who was the better athlete, knowing the competition would sharpen both their skills and their focus.

Parsons and Oweh played different positions, and these competitions — mostly sprinting and lifting — occurred while training to get ready for the next season.

Occasionally, some of these past workouts made the rounds on social media. The numbers were difficult to believe unless you saw them do the drills in person.

Finally, these two blue-chip Nittany Lions shared the Penn State Pro Day stage Thursday morning in University Park with the Big Ten Network looking in.

Now everyone knows how special Parsons and Oweh are.

Parsons, the linebacker who was a first-team All-American during his final season (2019), was measured at 6-foot-3, 246 pounds. He ran a 4.39 40, benched 225 pounds a total of 19 times, produced a 34-inch vertical jump and broad-jumped 10 feet, 6 inches.

Parsons opted out of his final year at Penn State because of covid-19 and focused on training on the West Coast for Penn State’s Pro Day and the draft.

He acknowledged he has talked to several teams, listing the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, Detroit Lions and New York Giants as a few of his suitors. The Steelers pick 24th in the first round.

During his prep days at Central Dauphin and later at Harrisburg, Parsons played just about everywhere. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that on Thursday he displayed sprinter’s speed, lifted like a defensive end and jumped into the air like a 1,000-yard wideout.

Oweh, Parsons’ 2018 classmate, is a still somewhat raw defensive end who was known best for his basketball skills before arriving at Penn State. Three years later, the 6-5, 257-pound Oweh left the Lions’ program as a first-team All-Big Ten pick.

Don’t be surprised if Jayson joins Parsons as a first-round pick in the NFL Draft in a few weeks, especially after he was timed at 4.36 in the 40 to go with a 39.5-inch vertical and an 11-2 broad jump. For good measure, Oweh put up 21 reps in the bench press.

The Lions’ strength and conditioning program, directed by Dwight Galt, has led to former Penn State players putting up huge testing numbers while prepping for recent NFL drafts.

But nothing compares to what Parsons and Oweh did Thursday.

“We’ve been competing since freshman year, the day we both walked in, and the moment I saw (Oweh) was a freak … I knew what I could bring out of him,” Parsons said afterward.

“So obviously, I always love to keep up with ‘J’ (Jayson) and, you know, he ‘PR’d’ (personal record-ed) on a lot of things, and I felt like I did really well on things I feel that I was gonna do well on.

“And you know, I think in a lot of categories we were pretty close. So you know, I think he had the edge on the day. Overall, I think we competed our butts off today and showed scouts why we’re the most competitive duo in the country.”

One of the strengths of Parsons’ game is his ability to play multiple spots.

“I just feel like I’m the most versatile player in his class, so I could play middle linebacker, I can play outside, and I can pass rush,” Parsons said.

“I don’t think there’s (any) place I can’t play in a linebacker spot.”

He later added: “You know, my versatility is going to come in handy. I played D-end growing up and pretty much my whole life, so rushing the passer has never been a problem.”