Oklahoma football: Five returning Sooners ready to ramp up their game
By Chip Rouse
Senior safety Steven Parker
Strong safety Steven Parker has played in 39 consecutive games for the Sooners and 30 as a starter. He begins his senior season with some added fire in his belly. He is a bit upset about being left off of the Big 12’s preseason honor roll.
He’s already got his game face on, and it’s still three weeks before the start of the 2017 season.
Defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks says you can see it in his body language. “He’s (Parker) not saying a whole bunch, but you can how he is leading,” Cooks said in an interview last week with the Tulsa World.
“You know by his body presence and his attitude. You know how he’s working that he’s ready to roll.”
Parker has been the unsung hero in the defensive secondary the last couple of seasons, with most of the headlines and public accolades going to fellow teammate Jordan Thomas.
Parker is second on the team among the returning defensive starters with 63 tackles last season. He tied for second on the team in 2016 with two interceptions and was credited with four pass breakups, third most on the team.
The senior safety wants to be in the conversation for the best player in the country at his position. “I want to be the best safety in the country,” he told the Tulsa World’s Guerin Emig. “That’s my main motivation. That’s my fuel every day.”
Parker knows that this his last go-around in the college ranks to prove that he is deserving of that level of recognition. That may be just the motivation the Sooner starting strong safety needs to deliver a breakout season.