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Brotherly love for Kent State OT Gus Parrish
6:00 AM Tue, Mar 31, 2009 | Permalink
Rick Gosselin E-mail News tips
Gus Parrish was an all-state defensive lineman in Maryland as a senior in high school with 10 sacks and 22 tackles for losses. He had a scholarship offer to play his college football at Illinois in the Big Ten, but elected instead to play at Kent State in the Mid-American Conference.
His choice didn't come down to conferences. It came down to family. His older brother Justin was an All-MAC linebacker at Kent State at the time. He would be entering his senior season in 2005 when Gus would be entering his freshman season.
"We didn't play high-school ball together," Gus said, "and I wanted to play ball with him. I played against him -- but I wanted to play with him. So it came down to Illinois, East Carolina and Kent for me. I was tempted to go Illinois, but I felt my bond was to my brother."
Parrish (6-4, 302) didn't start as a freshman, but he lined up the next three seasons at left tackle. He played against teams from the ACC (Virginia Tech), Big Ten (Ohio State), Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (Kentucky). He knows he could have played at Illinois. His message to the NFL in this draft process -- judge a player by his performance, not by his school or conference.
"I feel I could have played at Tennessee," Parrish said. "I feel I could play at Alabama. I feel I could play with anybody. But Kent State is where I ended up. You're a football player -- you just keep playing."
6:00 AM Tue, Mar 31, 2009 | Permalink
Rick Gosselin E-mail News tips
Gus Parrish was an all-state defensive lineman in Maryland as a senior in high school with 10 sacks and 22 tackles for losses. He had a scholarship offer to play his college football at Illinois in the Big Ten, but elected instead to play at Kent State in the Mid-American Conference.
His choice didn't come down to conferences. It came down to family. His older brother Justin was an All-MAC linebacker at Kent State at the time. He would be entering his senior season in 2005 when Gus would be entering his freshman season.
"We didn't play high-school ball together," Gus said, "and I wanted to play ball with him. I played against him -- but I wanted to play with him. So it came down to Illinois, East Carolina and Kent for me. I was tempted to go Illinois, but I felt my bond was to my brother."
Parrish (6-4, 302) didn't start as a freshman, but he lined up the next three seasons at left tackle. He played against teams from the ACC (Virginia Tech), Big Ten (Ohio State), Big 12 (Iowa State) and SEC (Kentucky). He knows he could have played at Illinois. His message to the NFL in this draft process -- judge a player by his performance, not by his school or conference.
"I feel I could have played at Tennessee," Parrish said. "I feel I could play at Alabama. I feel I could play with anybody. But Kent State is where I ended up. You're a football player -- you just keep playing."