Clemson is getting the total package in offensive line commit Walker Parks with what he brings to the table both as a player and a person.
The Clemson Insider visited Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington, Kentucky, last Friday night to see Parks play and spoke with Frederick Douglass head coach Brian Landis while there.
“The thing that’s so special about Walker — not only is he an elite player, he’s an elite human,” Landis said. “He just does everything right. He’s a leader, he’s a captain, he’s one of our hardest workers and he’s dominant on the field. One of our things this year for our guys, one of the goals for the O-line, is ‘make them tap out.’ And every day in practice, he’s making people tap out. So, it’s fun to have him.”
On the field, Parks, a four-star prospect, has the type of mean streak and nasty attitude that coaches love in O-linemen.
Off the field, Parks is totally different.
“Off the field, he’s probably one of the nicest people you’d ever meet,” Landis said. “His parents are great. He’s well raised. But when you get him on the field, man, he flips that switch. He’s like the (Bryan) Bresee kid (Clemson has) coming down there, too. They’re just nasty humans on the field, and I love that. I love competitiveness and I love people getting after it, and he exemplifies that snap after snap after snap till you tap out.”
Parks committed to Clemson last October, choosing the Tigers over offers from Kentucky, Notre Dame, Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others.
Landis is a fan of what Dabo Swinney has done at Clemson and believes Parks will fit right into the program.
“First thing, (Clemson is) getting a great human, and everything I know about (Clemson’s) staff through our interactions with them is that’s what they want, number one,” Landis said. “And when you have a bunch of good humans on your team, you’re going to win a lot more games. And then when you get great humans who are great players, now you’ve really got something. The proof’s in the pudding. Dabo’s got it going down there because they’ve got great humans and they’re all elite players.
“So, (Clemson is) getting a really elite player, but you got a guy that, his knowledge of the game – he’s one of those kids you tell him once and he gets it. He’s got a lot of football savvy to him and the game comes easy, and not only does it come easy to him, he really, really works at it too. So, (Clemson is) in for a big one there.”
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