Being an Arkansas pledge, cornerback Keuan Parker hasn’t seen much action on his side of the ball in Tulsa Washington’s first four games, but a teammate is benefitting.
“The thing is our other corner opposite of him, Jaden King, who’s a sophomore, has three interceptions,” Tulsa Washington coach Jonathan Brown said. “That’s because people haven’t been trying Keuan. So when we get into district play and we start facing different type teams that really like to air the ball out, he’s definitely going to get challenged.”
Parker, 5-11, 170 pounds, had 4 tackles and a pass breakup in a 28-17 loss to Bishop McGuinness on Sept. 18, and 5 tackles in a 26-22 loss to Choctaw last week.
He has 19 tackles and 4 pass breakups on the young season. Parker has made a big jump as a leader of the team.
“I’ve seen a boy turn into a teenager,” Brown said. “That by no means is a disrespectful comment, but the growth thing he’s had as far as going into a leadership role…last year we had guys that were more talkative with leadership, but understanding he’s that senior right now he’s got to show leadership on and off the field.”
Parker, who picked the Razorbacks over scholarship offers from Oregon, Baylor, Nebraska, Michigan State and several other programs, recorded 45 tackles, one sack, 14 pass breakups and two interceptions as a junior.
“He’s playing so physical at the line,” Brown said. “That’s the one thing I like. We do a lot of man coverage here. We play a little bit of zone, but we play a lot of man because we have athletes. Just to see how he can lead his hips and be physical at the line of scrimmage is so encouraging.”
Brown said Parker isn’t afraid to be physical while tackling.
“A knock on a lot of corners is they don’t like to hit, but that’s not Keuan Parker,” Brown said.