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R E C R U I T I N G S E P T E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 14 Following 'good experience' at Penn State, Parsons eyes November announcement Five-star defensive end Micah Parsons was back at Penn State this past weekend for the Nittany Lions' 56-0 victory over Georgia State. Back in June, the nation's sixth-ranked prospect took an unofficial visit with his father to meet with head coach James Franklin and his staff. Par- sons, who stands 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, then re- turned for the staff's annual s eve n - o n - s eve n tournament a few weeks later, but he didn't make any visits in July or August. His trip to University Park on Sat- urday was his first in almost three months, and he was accompanied by his father, Ter- rence Parsons. "I wasn't originally planning to go, but since my son was already going up, I changed my plans and went up so I could talk with the coaches again," Terrence Par- sons said. "I met with E.J. [Barthel] first because we were up there a little early and then I met up with Justin King. I spent most of the day with those two, but when we went up to the recruiting lounge to eat before the game, that's when I got to meet with Brent Pry. We also went down on the field then and got to talk to Coach Franklin for a few minutes. "We were mainly talking about Micah potentially graduating early and everything we need to do for that. Also, when he should apply and that kind of stuff. It was mainly just about some of the things that need to take place in the next couple months. He's actually taking college classes right now at [Harrisburg Univer- sity], so we wanted to make sure those classes will transfer with him up there. We also talked about, if he doesn't graduate early, what kind of prep he'll have when he gets on campus in June. He'll have the same six or seven weeks that everyone else gets in the summer. "But overall, it was a good experience, a good visit. He and Franklin had a good talk and they hugged and everything. We've al- ways had a good relationship with those guys." If Parsons is able to graduate early from Harrisburg High, he will be eligible to take part in spring practice next March and April. He's exploring the possibility, but it's unclear whether the school will be able to accommodate him. "No one has ever graduated from Harris- burg early, so we're really just waiting to see if the school can make this happen," Ter- rence Parsons said. "He's got the classes he needs and is taking a math class at the local university, but no one has ever done this at Harrisburg, so people at the school are still looking into everything. "He also would have to finish up and do his senior project, but with his SAT score and his credits, he's in good shape. It's mainly just about Harrisburg and if they can make this happen." During the past few years, Parsons has been in attendance for a handful of Penn State games, including last season's upset victory over Ohio State. Since he had al- ready experienced the game day atmos- phere inside Beaver Stadium, one of the most important aspects of his visit last weekend was that he was able to talk to some of the team's other recruits. He spoke with Keaton Ellis, who recently be- came the first player to commit to the Class of 2019, as well as John Metchie and Jayson Oweh. Metchie is a receiver in the Class of 2019, while Oweh is a defensive end who, like Parsons, is being pursued to fill one of the final spots in the upcoming class. "Micah enjoyed himself, like always," his father said. "Everyone up there, from the fans to the coaches, were telling him that he needs to stay home and come to Penn State when we were out on the field. It was a great time." Parsons still is planning to take an official visit to Nebraska on the weekend of Oct. 7- 8 for its game against Wisconsin. He also has a timetable in mind to make a decision, and because Harrisburg plays its home games on Saturdays, it may be difficult for him to take any additional of- ficial visits before he makes a commit- ment. "It's going to be kind of hard for him to take an official visit to Penn State, but we'll see," Terrence Parsons said. "He plays all of his home games on Saturdays, and Central Dauphin also changed their game against us from Friday to Saturday [Oct. 14]. We were looking at potentially taking a visit somewhere that weekend, but now he plays on Saturday, so we'll see. I'm just not ex- actly sure where he stands with that right now. "I do know that he'll still take his official visit to Nebraska. Right now, his plan is to commit in November aBer the Cumber- land Valley game [Nov. 4]. He'll then sign in December during the early signing pe- riod. So, if he sticks with that plan, it's going to be hard to squeeze in other official visits. I know Georgia is a school he would like to take an official visit to, but at this point, it's looking hard with his schedule and their schedule. Time is a bit short now and we're trying to get this over and done with." In addition to his No. 6 overall rating, Parsons is the top-ranked weakside defen- sive end and the No. 1 prospect in Pennsyl- vania for the Class of 2018. He originally committed to the Nittany Lions in Febru- ary 2016 but decided this past April to open up his recruitment. Many believe that Ohio State and Nebraska are Penn State's top competitors. R Y A N   S N Y D E R | S N Y D E R 4 2 0 8 8 @ G M A I L . C O M PARSONS

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