Opening his press conference this week, Clemson offensive lineman Walker Parks shared how he spent his bye week.
“It was really good, body feels great coming off of a bye week,” Parks said.
He then smiled and referenced one of his teammates, defensive end KJ Henry.
“Like KJ said, I took a couple naps and hung out with the family,” Parks said.
Family time for Parks consisted of watching college football with this dad — specifically, the Notre Dame-Syracuse game, giving jumpstart insight into the Notre Dame defense.
“They looked good,” Parks said. “I thought they had a really good game. I’ve watched them all season.”
Parks continued to break down the defense further, saying, “Interior, they got some good guys. They got a couple guys I played in 2020. They got some twitchy guys and some big-body guys, so you’ll get a mix of everything. They got some experienced D-ends too.”
Among the Fighting Irish players that made a memorable impression on Parks is linebacker JD Bertrand.
“He’s a smaller body on the field, but he’s all over the place,” Parks said. “I think he leads the team in tackles. That’s a guy you gotta watch out for.”
Linebacker Marist Liufau caught Parks’ attention as well.
“No. 8, big linebacker,” Parks said. “He fits the holes really well on the gaps. I pull a lot of counters, so I’m gonna be ready for that.”
With Marcus Freeman holding a 5-3 record in his debut campaign as Notre Dame’s head coach, Parks does not believe this shows the true potential of the Fighting Irish.
“They’ve looked good all season,” he said. “I think their record does not reflect the team that they are.”
Parks drew a comparison between the Fighting Irish and last year’s Tigers.
“I know that they lost a couple games, but that doesn’t matter,” he said. “We lost a couple games last year and were still a dominant team.”
Despite three losses, Notre Dame is 2-0 against ACC teams, scoring at least 40 points in both matchups against UNC and Syracuse.
The last time Parks traveled to South Bend as a freshman in 2020, the Tigers lost in double-overtime, which they look to avenge.
“Definitely looking for a different outcome,” he said. “Not a good feeling losing in double-overtime, having them rush the field and put cameras in your face.”
Looking back at that meeting between these two teams, DJ Uiagalelei had his second collegiate start where he threw for 439 yards, breaking Deshaun Watson’s freshman record of 435 yards.
With his worst appearance of this season against Syracuse prior to the bye week, Parks discussed the quarterback role for the Tigers.
Uiagalelei got benched after his third turnover against Syracuse, but being benched against Syracuse is no stranger to Parks.
“Going back to last year’s Syracuse game, I had four or five pressures which is horrendous, so they pulled me and I got benched,” he said.
Parks continued on to say, “It’s not really a personal thing.”
Cohesiveness is a large factor in the Tigers’ success this season.
“Everyone’s so close and it’s such a brotherhood,” Parks said. “It’s really next man up. It’s a competitive depth. I think it’s good to have.”
With an offensive line shift from tackle to guard, Parks feels at home.
“It’s been a good transition for me,” he said.
A prime focus is keeping weight on to be heavy enough to play inside.
“Definitely need to have some mass and quickness to you at the same time,” he said.
An optimistic pregame preview from Parks sets the stage as the Tigers look to improve their record to 5-2 in the series against the Fighting Irish when the two teams meet in South Bend at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC.
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