Micah Parsons raised a few eyebrows during draft weekend when he announced that he wanted to wear his familiar No. 11 for the Cowboys. Now, about to tackle his first day of minicamp as an NFL rookie, he’s also secured the position he prefers to play.
“Right now, I’m at MIKE linebacker,” the 21-year-old told the team website, referring to the middle linebacker role he filled at Penn State. “Looking at the playbook, this is a position for me to go sideline to sideline and make a lot of plays and really stop that run, how I’m supposed to do.”
As rookie minicamp kicks off on Friday, the Cowboys will feature just 31 players, according to the team. Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, Keanu Neal, and fellow rookie Jabril Cox will all figure into the linebacker mix this season as well; the exact spot Parsons eventually occupies could obviously change by the time the competition across the line of scrimmage is wearing different colors.
To that end, the first-round selection is also quickly adjusting to the idea that in the pros, there are no non-conference matchups to ease into things once the season begins. He’ll be making his NFL debut against none other than five-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who himself was drafted out of the Big Ten in 2000… before Parsons had even celebrated his first birthday.
“I was, like, ‘Wow,'” Parsons smiled when asked about the Cowboys’ upcoming schedule. “It’s definitely weird coming into the NFL. You’ve got Tom Brady [in the] first game, then you’ve got [Patrick] Mahomes down the line. I said, ‘We’ve got all the nice running backs.’ I said, ‘That’s cool. Whatever. Can’t do nothing about it.’ Got to play ball no matter what, right?”
And starting now, Parsons in playing ball in the NFL.
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