It wasn’t the ideal road to the playing field for junior tight end Nick Parker, but when his opportunity came, he took full advantage of it. Parker made the first reception of his Ole Miss career this past weekend against LSU and it went for a touchdown.
“Interesting,” Parker said of his first catch and touchdown. “I just found myself open, asked for the ball, and I caught it.”
However, coming out of high school, many thought Parker would be a bowling ball running back trucking over people into the end zone. As a senior at South Panola High School in Batesville, Parker ran for 1,566 yards, which ranked 19th in the state, and also added 18 touchdowns.
Parker made the move to tight end this fall, when the Rebels were lacking size at the position. Despite the move, Parker was forced to the sidelines for a bit after freshman Evan Engram emerged as a dual-threat big man. This however, would not stop Parker. After Engram went down with a season ending injury, Parker stepped in to fill the void.
“It was a big adjustment,” Parker said of making the move to tight end. “I had to get the blocking scheme down, work on running routes and everything there. It was a big change, but I found my way through it.”
Freeze also will look to Parker to make some plays from his newly acquired spot.
“Nick’s going to have to go,” Freeze said. “Every kid is different. We play to their strengths. Evan was a guy that could do quite a few things. I don’t know that we’ve got the exact guy that can do that, but we’ll try to get it done using a few people.”
Although Parker has seen early success after the position change, he said he still enjoys playing running back.
“I still miss that,” Parker said. “I miss that everyday. I miss playing that spot.”
After getting some reps and some game action, Parker said that things haven’t been too different for him practice wise since Engram went down, as far as what coaches are trying to get him to do.
“I was doing the same thing when Evan was here,” Engram said. “I blocked and ran routes, so it’s nothing more. It’s more expectations, that’s it.”
Now that he will see the field more, Parker said he expects more out of himself.
“I have raised my expectations,” Parker said. “I want to run my routes even better now, drive my feet more. I just want to step up and do the right thing.”
With the ball already coming to him once this season, Parker said he expects it to continue to fly his way.
“I do,” Parker said. “A lot more.”
