N.C. A&T’s Parker sizes up well for NFL career

(STATS) - Brandon Parker may have gotten a glimpse of his future at a Greensboro, North Carolina, restaurant last fall.

He saw five or six people wearing the Chicago Bears No. 29 jersey of rookie running back Tarik Cohen, his former teammate at North Carolina A&T.

But what stood out to Parker the most was the Bears weren't playing a game at the time.

Parker, N.C. A&T's All-America left tackle, paved the way in three of Cohen's four seasons at the MEAC school in Greensboro, but this year Parker wants to follow Cohen into the NFL.

An important opportunity awaits Parker as one of 20 players from the FCS level who will attend the NFL Scouting Combine, Tuesday through March 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. He will be part of the first group of arrivals to undergo measurements, medical examinations, psychological testing, team interviews and on-field workouts.

At 6-foot-7 1/4, 323 pounds, Parker is a physical specimen, still surprisingly lean and one of the bigger prospects for the April 26-28 draft. Generally projected to be selected in the third or fourth round, "Big Stuff" was the tallest player and had the largest wingspan (85 1/4 inches) at the Senior Bowl last month.

"Coming from the FCS level, we understand that we're going to have to work for what we want," he said. "I think we deal with that natural grind factor that (at) that Power-Five school everything is kind of handed to (players) and they've been at the top of the rankings their whole life pretty much. But now we're at the point where we actually have to go get it and we have to go take our respect. I think that just gives us an edge."

Parker didn't have a full scholarship offer from an FBS school coming out high school in Kannapolis, North Carolina, but he made the most of his opportunity at N.C. A&T. He was a three-time MEAC offensive lineman of the year and made the STATS FCS All-America first team as both a junior and senior. Over 48 career starts, he didn't surrender a sack, allowed only two quarterback hurries and committed just seven penalties.

In short, Parker is a perfectionist - to a fault.

"I take pride in trying to do everything the exact right way," he said. "A lot of times I spend too much time doing one thing here and (have) gone back and changed something I shouldn't have."

Parker's basketball background adds to his remarkable agility for his size. He plays with a nasty streak and finishes off plays well.

In closing the gap between FCS and FBS competition, he answered a lot of questions at the Senior Bowl with his punch and timing and the ability to use leverage in pass protection.

"Parker's large wingspan, wide base and coordinated feet are great foundation traits for a NFL team to develop," wrote analyst Dane Brugler for NFLDraftScout. He ranked Parker as having the 12th-best Senior Bowl performance. "Scouts thought top 100 was possible for him during the season and he has lived up to those expectations."

A Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, Parker has trained for a pro career in that city - at ASPI Institute. He patterns himself after All-Pro tackle Tyron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys.

But, just as Cohen has done, Parker is ready to make a name for himself.

"It's been intense. You kind of got past the fun stage once you got to school, but now it's officially your job," Parker said. "You're just consistently grinding at something to be better every day."