Former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons has been named to his third AP All-Pro team in as many NFL seasons.
Unlike his first two seasons with the Cowboys, he was named to the second team, not the first.
First-team honors went to Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt and Cleveland’s Myles Garrett.
Nonetheless, it’s still a significant honor for the Pride of Harrisburg, who made second team along with Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders. Parsons finished the regular season with 14 sacks, good for seventh in the league, 64 total tackles and a forced fumble.
He also has 90 quarterback pressures and, per the Cowboys website, joins Mel Renfro— who played his last game almost 46 years ago— as the only defensive players in franchise history to make it to the Pro Bowl in each of their first three seasons. He was named to his third Pro Bowl last week.
A five-star recruit from Harrisburg, Parsons only played two seasons at Penn State, but made the most of his time, being named freshman all-American in 2018 and consensus all-American in 2019. He didn’t left Penn State after that 2019 season, choosing to focus on the NFL Draft amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Dallas then selected Parsons with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 draft.
In September, Parsons’ college coach, James Franklin, spoke highly of his former star.
“I’m super proud of him,” Franklin said. “I’m super proud of the young man that we recruited really from ninth grade, that took us on a roller-coaster ride during his recruiting process. We had some tough love when he was here. And he looks back at all this stuff with such appreciation now. He’s always been super thoughtful. I loved how he embraced the whole Penn State experience.”
He’s a big reason Dallas is in the playoff, where it will host Green Bay Sunday at 4:30.
