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Micah Parsons reveals Alabama offered him at running back

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•about 18 hours•

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Micah Parsons
Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK

Nick Saban was one of the best talent evaluators out there and the record speaks for itself. Alabama has a few stories of high school two-way players making tough decisions on what position to play. Ultimately, it works out and those highly-rated guys make their way to the NFL.

One that never materialized in Tuscaloosa was getting Micah Parsons on campus. But Alabama did not want him to play on the edge or even at linebacker. According to Parsons himself, the Crimson Tide offered him to be a running back out of high school.

“Bama offered me,” Parsons said. “… to play running back.”

Parsons played high school football at Harrisburg (PA), where he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Just about every major program in the country offered Parsons coming out of high school. Penn State ultimately won out but there was a decommitment to deal with. Schools like Ohio State were involved in his recruitment, as were Georgia and Oklahoma. Nebraska received an official visit too.

Alabama did receive a visit but it was unofficially during the summer of 2017. It’s likely when the Crimson Tide staff got their first in-person evaluation and possibly floated out the idea of playing running back at the college level. Obviously, the evaluation did not work out for them.

Going to Penn State to play linebacker turned out quite well for Parsons. In two seasons he recorded 192 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks. Opting out of the 2020 season to prepare for the NFL Draft meant Parsons did not play his junior year in Happy Valley.

He was eventually selected by the Dallas Cowboys and quickly moved on from linebacker. Letting Parsons rush the passer has made him one of the NFL’s most dominant players. Even in a year where injury caused missed time, Parsons put up 12 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. More likely than not, a massive contract extension is heading his way in the offseason.

Funny enough, the Cowboys are in need of a running back at the moment. Maybe Parsons still contains the ability Saban and his Alabama staff saw back in the day. After all, what can No. 11 not do when out on the football field?