Juco defensive lineman heads to Arizona

Arizona continued to find gold in the California junior college system when it landed the top defensive line prospect from Cerritos College. The latest Cat brings the Arizona total to four for the year from the Golden State.

Rickey Parker confirmed Wednesday that he committed to the University of Arizona in February and will enroll in classes for the summer. Parker looks thinks he can have an immediate impact.

"I always wanted to play Pac-10 ball," said Parker. "I'm hoping to get on the field and play right away."

Parker signed with Arizona State out of high school where he red-shirted for a year before transferring to Cerritos. He was a JuCal Transfer Pre-Season All State player in 2004 and will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Parker is 6-foot-4, 281 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash around 5.0. He once ran a 4.23 shuttle, had a 28-inch vertical and was considered one of the top-rated defensive linemen coming out of high school in 2002. He was a Long Beach Press Telegram Dream Team and Los Angeles Times All Star as a senior at Los Alamitos High School.

Parker chose Arizona over Oregon State, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Idaho State and Portland State. He credited the Arizona strength and conditioning program with being a big reason he chose Arizona. Parker put on 25 pounds at Cerritos and now looks forward to getting in better shape for what lies ahead.

"I know where I need to be and how to get there," Parker said. "When I was at Arizona State I was a little kid and had to grow up. At Cerritos I was fat, plain and simple."

Parker plans on keeping the weight but redistributing it in order to play both tackle and on the edge.

"I think I can do a little of both," Parker said.