Brent Venables appreciates attitude of Daniel Parker after transfer

Journeyman tight end Daniel Parker is in his fifth year of college football, and his first at a place other than Missouri. Parker spent four years as a deep rotation piece in the TE room for the Tigers, never amassing more than 15 catches in a single season. Now, he’s moved on to Oklahoma, where he’s expecting little and attacking every day like a true pro, according to new Sooners head coach Brent Venables.

There’s a number of guys that have these roles like he does. That and I just have this incredible appreciation for them. Very selfless, he’s got a thankful spirit to him,” Venables reflected on Parker when asked about the redshirt senior at a recent press conference. He then continued, noting the risks of incorporating older transfer into a roster.

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“When he transferred in here, again, one of your concerns or things that you’re going to be wary of of a guy that’s been a starter somewhere that comes in was…what their expectation is. It’s easy for me. Got my guard up. I don’t want guys coming in here thinking that they’re entitled to something. I don’t want any entitlement anywhere in this program. We’re going to guard against complacency and entitlement and we’re going to defend it to the nth degree.”

With Parker, there was none of that entitlement. He came in as a backup and was perfectly fine with that role.

“One of the attractive things about him was his humility, his thankfulness. He’s a tough guy, great teammate, very competitive. And again, takes a lot of maturity for a guy like him. You know, virtually the same age and to look up to his teammate he just met several months ago and now he’s got to be his backup. So I got a great thankfulness for for DP and what he’s brought to the team.”

Despite his age, Parker has apparently never leaned into leading too much. But that’s changing at his new Oklahoman home. Brent Venables sees a leader in Parker.

“He’s been a leader since he’s been here. And I guess he hadn’t been a leader his whole career, whatever that means. That’s just some of his own testimony and so that’s cool, too, to hear about transformation, which is what college should be all about. Finding your way, learning and growing through some tough moments in your life. And having the thankfulness is where it all starts. Just having gratitude, and it’s giving him perspective. Now, he’s created this role and created this value for himself as a result, which I love.”