There is a fire in Micah Parsons’ eyes that makes you believe whatever he’s telling you.
It’s a healthy arrogance, a self confidence that seeps from being someone who knows exactly how good they are and how good they can be.
Whatever it is, whatever the source, Parsons has it in spades.
But Micah Parsons has — in the grand scheme of things — done very little of note. He was an exceptional high school athlete, and began the season a promising freshman turned rising sophomore. Many players have been both of these things and most come up short of the bigger goals they’ve always been chasing.
Which makes Parsons’ seven solo tackle outing an important entry in his career. Stats can tell you a story, but what the eye test told you was something far more impressive: Parsons, a kid who has played linebacker for a year, is starting to really figure it out.
And for the entirety of Penn state’s 17-10 win over Pitt, Micah Parsons looked like Micah Parsons. He flew to the ball, almost always in the right place at the right time. If he was able to make up for his mistakes in 2018 due to his athleticism, his performance a year later was cut from a more refined cloth, one woven with his body and mind. He made plays by being in the right place at the right time because Micah Parsons knows what he is doing.
‘I just knew I had a great gift and talent my coaches have been helping me learn,’ Parsons said after the game. ‘I’m just trying to show people that I’ve learned it and I’m trying to be here and play to the best of my ability.’
‘He was all over the place playing within the framework of the defense but also being super explosive and super disruptive. It’s a great weapon to have on the defense,’ safety Garrett Taylor added. ‘He’s a Will [linebacker] so he’s in front of me and it’s fun going out there and seeing him work.’
Over a year ago defensive coordinator Brent Pry stood on that same Beaver Stadium field during the summer and paused for a moment to think. The sun shining, the highly touted defensive end turned linebacker yet to play a single snap in college. Everything was ahead of them, nothing yet set in stone.
‘Micah has no idea how good he can be,’ Pry said quietly.
If Saturday’s performance was any indication, he’s starting to figure it out.
The progress has been the result of many things, experience, coaching, work ethic and a renewed attention to detail. As any seasoned veteran player will tell you, the work you put in off the field can make the biggest difference in how you play on it.
So if you pay attention to that, you can see the transformation coming before it actually happens.
‘I sensed that from the beginning of camp,’ linebacker Cam Brown said of Parsons’ growth. ‘When Micah started improving in the film room and even being able to help me out on certain things, I knew that Micah was turning over a new leaf and Micah was ready to be the Micah Parsons you’ve all been waiting for.’
There is an inherent absurdity to Parsons’ rise, that he has played linebacker for a year, going from defensive end (and running back) in high school to a position he had never played before. Nothing about that should have been simple. Nothing about it should have resulted in Parsons leading the team in tackles in 2018.
And now in 2019 he looks poised to take an even bigger step. Get in a time machine, and ask Parsons three years ago if he could see himself dominating a game at linebacker.
You already know the answer.
‘I’d probably believe it, I believe that I can do anything,’ Parsons said, flashing a smile. ‘I’m trying to play running back. I believe I can do anything and it feels good when you have the coaches and players that have that faith in you too.’
Talk your game young man. After Saturday, you’ve earned it.
But like all journeys, the first step isn’t the last.
