Big 12 offer is first for Parsons

First noticed at the NIKE Combine in Keller, Texas several weeks ago, Spring Branch (Texas) Smithson Valley offensive tackle Thomas Parsons has gone from being a sleeper to an offered prospect.

Parsons, who has attended other combines since then, found out this past Thursday that Oklahoma State was putting their offer on the table first. His mother, Ronda Parsons, says that since the NIKE event, things have been busy in the recruiting department.

"He started getting more letters from Colorado, Arizona, and a whole bunch of Division I schools," Parsons' mother said. "Oklahoma State called his coach and put the offer out there for him. They want us to come up. We're supposed to go there and watch one of their scrimmages."

Parsons mother says that her son has been working hard for this kind of recognition.

"He works out five days a week and does running on Sundays," Parsons' mother said. "His freshman year he was playing until the freshman season was over and then they pulled him up to varsity after that. He wanted to have a lot of playing time, so as a sophomore, he went back down to JV after asking how realistic a lot of playing time was.

"He brought himself down, and after the sophomore season, they pulled him up to varsity again for the remainder of the varsity season. Then he was a full-time starter as a junior."