SEATTLE — Sean Parker wears a size 111/2 shoe, but the University of Washington freshman has no problem admitting that he’ll have to grow into bigger shoes before the fall.
After spending his first season at UW playing the understudy to senior Nate Williams and being one of only 12 true fres
hmen to play last fall, Parker is preparing to take over as the Huskies’ starting strong safety.
It’s a job Parker envisioned when he chose UW and one for which he’s been groomed since he arrived less than eight months ago.
“I’ve got to step my game up and adopt a bigger role,” the Los Angeles native and prized recruit from the Class of 2010 said Tuesday. “I’ve got to be the guy they can count on.”
For most of the Steve Sarkisian era, the Huskies had a safety to count on in Williams, who started all but one game since the new coaching staff arrived in 2009. He was an indisputable leader during that span but is now hoping to move on to an NFL training camp.
That leaves an opening for Parker, who is expected to move into the strong safety spot while current sophomore Nate Fellner slides from strong to free safety. After spending his freshman year learning from Williams, Parker will be trying to replace him.
“He was one of our captains (last season), so I just had to take a seat and look up to him as a mentor,” Parker said of playing behind Williams last season. “I just had to play my part.”
Teammates, coaches and UW fans are eager to get an extended look at the player who turned down USC and Michigan, among others, to become a Husky. He was one of only five four-star recruits from UW’s Class of 2010, according to Rivals.com, and was limited down the stretch of his freshman season by a shoulder stinger.
As a precaution, Parker is still being held out of contact drills during the spring, but his teammates know what to expect when he’s given the green light.
“I know when he’s able to play that he’s going to bring the wood,” middle linebacker Cort Dennison said. “I’ve seen some hits out of him that I’ve never seen before, and I’m really excited to play with him full-speed.”
While Parker gained valuable experience playing in UW’s nickel package as a freshman, there are those who would have just as soon seen him sit out the season as a redshirt. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Tuesday that he would love to have Parker back this fall with four years of eligibility remaining, but a lack of depth at the position forced the true freshman into action in 2010.
“He’s been in the fire, and he knows the speed of the game,” Holt said. “But quite honestly, I wish we were able to redshirt a lot of these freshmen. … They were thrown into the fire, and now hopefully they’ll be better for it. We’ll see.”
Due in part to the experience, Holt is hoping to see Parker step into a leadership role this fall.
“We knew he was going to be a good football player because he has a lot of football awareness,” Holt said. “And he plays a lot older, mentally, than his age. He needs to keep on getting faster and keep on getting stronger, so that he can make an impact. He knows what he’s doing, so I think he can be a really, really good strong safety in this conference.”
Parker said it was “fun” getting to play as a freshman, and he’s grateful for the experience.
“I think it benefited me well because I got into the system early, got a jump on the playbook,” he said Tuesday, “and now everything’s clear to me.”
Watching Williams may have prepared Parker to be a starter, and this fall he’s likely to get a chance to show how ready he is.
“It was good for him to play behind Nate Williams last year because he saw how a veteran goes about getting ready to play — his game-planning and his preparation,” Holt said. “I think Sean learned a lot from him, and hopefully he can take his game to that level too.”
Notes
Running backs Jesse Callier (ankle) and Zach Fogerson (concussion) sat out Tuesday’s practice, but head coach Steve Sarkisian said neither injury appears to be serious. … Punter Will Mahan, who is coming back from a torn knee ligament, has already started kicking and will battle Kiel Rasp for the position heading into the fall.
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