Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1193094
n hour after he had finished with 10 tackles and a sack in a 27-6 win against Rutgers on Nov. 30, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons searched for answers. The sophomore, who was only two days away from being named the Big Ten's Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year for his performance during the 2019 regular season, acknowledged his conflicting emotions. On one hand, he said, the Nit- tany Lions' relatively unin- spired performance against the Scarlet Knights would make everyone on the team wish they had per- formed better and more consistently. They had collectively missed a chance at allowing more of the younger players an opportunity to see action. But on a senior day in which two of his fellow starters in the linebacker corps – Cam Brown and Jan Johnson – had played their final game in Beaver Stadium, the outcome alone was worthy of cel- ebration and apprecia- tion. The issue that Parsons couldn't nail down was why the Lions didn't perform at their best. In a week that included the Thanksgiving holiday and an irregular practice schedule with classes out of ses- sion, Parsons had some suspicions, though. "There [were] a lot of challenges, a lot of distractions, family and being com- fortable," he said. "Maybe a lot of food that we ate could have slowed us down a little bit." A reporter followed up: Hadn't Rutgers also enjoyed the gluttony of the holiday? "I don't know if they ate the same amount," Parsons said, grinning. "Maybe UNFINISHED BUSINESS Even after another big season, Micah Parsons sees ample room for improvement | A LINEBACKER U Parsons recently became the first sophomore ever to win the Big Ten's Linebacker of the Year award. Photo by Steve Manuel P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >>