Parsons, Oweh impress at pro day with athleticism, competitive spirit
Micah Parsons and Jayson Oweh shared their friendly competitive fire with the world Thursday at Penn State’s pro day. Parsons and Oweh began their lifelong connection to Nittany Lions lore in 2018 when both men arrived in University Park, and it didn’t take them long to figure out, while Parsons had a better football pedigree, nobody should sleep on the talented Oweh.
“We’ve been competing since freshman year,” Parsons told reporters via Zoom Thursday after a workout. “We started vibing the day we both walked in. The moment I saw Jayson, [I knew he] was a freak. I knew what I could bring out of him.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert were in the group of reps from 31 of the 32 NFL teams to watch Oweh run his 40-yard dash time at 4.36, according to Penn State. Parsons had a 4.39, which also impressed observers at Holuba Hall and on Big Ten Network.
“You can’t compete with freaks of nature,” teammate and fellow defensive lineman Shaka Toney said after he completed a workout that caught the eyes of scouts, as well. “You’ve just got to let it be. You’ve got to compete with yourself. I’ve been knowing Micah since he was in high school. I’ve known Jayson since he was a freshman, and they’ve been doing these things.”
Parsons is 6 feet 3 and 246 pounds. An athlete of this size should bench press 225 pounds 19 times when he’s healthy, but it’s rare to land a 34-inch vertical jump and run a 40-yard dash as fast as he did. He produced during his two years at Penn State before opting out of the 2020 season, and nobody could blame the former All-American for not playing when he was a projected top-five pick on most draft boards.
His stock has dropped a bit if one believes the latest mock drafts, but his athletic showing Thursday surely helped.
“I see them, but I don’t pay attention to them,” Parsons said in response to reports that had him going as low as 18th in the NFL draft. “The only people’s opinions that matter are the scouts, the GMs and the owners.”
Is the shift a case of subterfuge by teams hoping Parsons will sink to them? Or are organizations concerned about the pending lawsuit from former player Isaiah Humphries stemming from a 2018 hazing allegation? It’s hard to discern what’s true or false during draft season.
Parsons discussed the situation as carefully as he could during his interactions with the media.
“LaVar [Arrington] did vouch for my character. Obviously, people have concerns about things that came up,” Parsons said. “But at the end of the day, I believe that I was a kid. I was 17, 18. We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18. I’m not going to let it control and dictate the person I am now. I’m not going to let something that was three or four years from now dictate who I’m becoming and the father I want to be.”
Parsons didn’t specify if he was speaking about Humphries. As it goes in ongoing litigation, it isn’t wise for Parsons to go there with reporters. But he defended himself as much as possible without putting his hand on a bible in court.
“Everyone’s going to learn and grow. I’m pretty sure none of you are making the same mistakes when you all were 17 or 18 or even 25,” Parsons said. “If someone’s going to judge me over that, then I’d rather not be in their program. I know the type of person I’m becoming.”
The NFL teams will determine his draft status soon enough.
“Anybody willing to accept my wrongs when I was wrong and accept my rights when I’m right, I’m ready to go in and give them my all. But if it’s going to come down to something I did in high school or something that I wish I could change — I can only control what I can control and what I do forward, so that’s how I feel about it.”
Parsons has the alleged off-field actions that could hold him back, and concerns about Oweh seemingly revolve around his lack of production on the gridiron.