Oklahoma TE Daniel Parker 'Comfortable' After First Game: 'I Felt Like I Belonged'

Parker made his OU debut on Saturday after missing the season opener, and is now ready for more as the Sooners head to Nebraska.

After missing the season opener, transfer tight end Daniel Parker made his Oklahoma debut last Saturday against the Kent State Golden Flashes.

Parker, a senior, spent his first four collegiate seasons at Missouri before transferring to OU over to the offseason, with Saturday being his first taste of a gameday in Norman.

“It was exciting,” Parker said after practice on Monday night. “The Palace was packed. I got to do it with my brothers and the coaching staff that I love to play with, so it was fun.

“I got to soak it all up and take it in. It was a surreal moment.”

Missing the opener would be hard on any player, but it was especially so on Parker, who expressed many times to the media, coaches and his teammates his anticipation to take the field for the first time as a Sooner.

But, he made the most of the day away from the action to enjoy watching his teammates get the 2022 campaign off to a fast start.

“It was hard,” Parker said. “I wanted to be out there with my brothers. But watching it and just observing it from a fan's point of view was actually fun because I know every single person on the field. It was just a fun perspective.”

Despite being sidelined with what Brent Venables called “the sniffles” in Week 1, Parker stepped right into the fold in Week 2 and didn’t miss a beat.

Once the game kicked off, it quickly became apparent to the Missouri native that Norman was the place for him.

"For me, I felt like the group of guys that I've practiced with in the spring have made me so comfortable that as soon as I stepped on the field, I felt like I belonged,” Parker said. “I felt like I've been here for years.”

Daniel Parker :: Chris Landsberger / The Oklahoman-USA Today Network

A big part of that adjustment period has been Parker’s close relationship with fellow senior tight end Brayden Willis.

Willis, an OU veteran and fan favorite, helped Parker acclimate to his new team quickly over the course of the offseason and into fall camp.

“For me, I'm brand new here and everything is new to me,” Parker said. “It's like 'Follow Brayden Willis. Wherever he goes, I go.' Like I said prior in the spring, he took me under his wing. Just watching him evolve from even where he was last year and watching what he has done to my game, being able to bring it to a different level has just been big for me.”

Willis agreed, the chemistry between the two was immediate.

“Oh, yeah, we clicked day one,” Willis said about he and Parker. “It feels like I've known him since I was a kid or something like that. So that's my guy. And, you know, it's weird not having J-Hall (Jeremiah Hall) in the room, being with him for so long. But I don't think we've really missed a step with bringing in DP, you know? Like I said, that's my guy. I enjoy having him the room and we're gonna have a great little duel.”

The willingness for Parker, a college football veteran with lots of experience under his belt in his own right, to step into a new situation and be the student has not been lost on Venables, who expressed how lucky he feels OU is to have someone like him on the team earlier this week.

“There's a number of guys that have these roles, like he does,” Venables said. “And I just have this incredible appreciation for them. Very selfless. He’s got a thankful spirit to him. You’re articulating that right now. And I love that as a guy that transferred in here. Again, one of your concerns or things that you're going to be wary of a guy that's been a starter somewhere that comes in was, what their expectation is. 

"Sometimes it's easy, for me I’ve got my guard up. I don't want guys coming in here thinking that they're entitled to something. I don't want any entitlement anywhere in this program. And we're gonna guard against complacency and entitlement. And we’re going to defend it to the nth degree. And so you do that with people. One of the attractive things about him was his humility. His thankfulness.

“Now, he's a tough guy. Great teammate. Very competitive. And again, it takes a lot of maturity for a guy (Willis) that's just like him, you know, virtually the same age. And to look up to his teammate he just met several months ago and now he's got to be his quote, unquote, backup. So I got a great thankfulness for DP and what he's brought to the team. He’s been a leader since he's been here. And I guess he hadn't been a leader his whole career, whatever that means. That's just some of his own testimony. 

"And so that's cool, too, to hear about transformation, which is what college should be all about. Finding your way. Learning and growing through some tough moments in your life and having a thankfulness is where it all starts. Just having gratitude. And it's given him perspective. And now he's created this role and created this value for himself as a result, which I love.”

Parker, who has touted himself as much more of a blocking tight end than one who will look to get out and catch passes regularly, announced his arrival in Norman with two key catches late in the first half that seemed to help the OU offense get going after a rocky start.

“I really didn't think too much of it,” Parker said. “I really just looked at it as I went out there to do my job and get my job done. I guess that kind of got the ball rolling, but I wasn't really thinking of it in that way.”

Regardless of what he’s doing to help, that is all he wants to do: Help the team win.

A class teammate and player that every coach dreams of, Parker is ready to lay it all out on the line every weekend in whatever role he is given.

“I'm here to do one thing and one thing only, and that's the job that Coach (Jeff) Lebby wants me to,” Parker said.

"Whether that be him wanting to get me the ball more or me getting involved in the blocking schemes, whatever it is, I'm 10 toes and I'm behind him.”