Oklahoma TE Daniel Parker Couldn't Wait to Reunite With Joe Jon Finley in Norman
NORMAN — Daniel Parker’s journey throughout college football has been far from standard.
Once an offensive tackle and defensive end in high school, the Kansas City native was recruited to Missouri to rush the passer.
Injuries on the team his freshman year saw him slide over to tight end for the first time in his football-playing career so he could serve as an extra pair of hands to block.
From there, he grew and took pride in his blocking abilities as a tight end, and it eventually led for him to make the decision to transfer and reunite with Joe Jon Finley at Oklahoma.
“Coach Finley was my tight end coach my freshman year as Missouri and we had that connection,” Parker said last week during a media availability. “He knows what I’m about. I know what he’s about.”
Parker’s familiarity and drive to improve led him to ultimately make the tough decision to leave Missouri in search of a new home.
“Deciding to leave Missouri I just felt like I needed to improve my game,” Parker said. I felt like just being there was just helping me maintain. And it’s not a knock on those guys. I love those guys over there. The program. Coach (Eliah) Drinkwitz is a great coach. Love those guys. But personally, I felt like for me to improve my game I needed to be somewhere else.
“And as soon as I entered the portal I let coach Finley know. He told me, ‘There’s some stuff going on here. I’ll have to get back to you.’ I just prayed and prayed and prayed. And as time went on he called me and he was like, ‘Hey, do you still want to be a Sooner?’. And I’m like, ‘Without a doubt I want to be a Sooner.’”
Daniel Parker only caught 12 passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns last year at Missouri, but still made a positive impact
Denny Medley / USA TODAY Sports
Though he only spent a year with Finley as his position coach, Parker said he grew close to Finely as the tight ends coach quickly knew all the right buttons to push to get the best out of Parker.
Parker also said Finley’s attention to detail brought the best out of not only him, but everyone else in the tight ends room as well, and it was a level of coaching he wanted to have once again.
“For me, he shows a lot of tough love and that’s what I need as a player,” Parker said. “I need tough love. And he fine tunes those little techniques that the next level is really looking for. Watching him send tight ends like Kendall Blanton and Albert (Okwuegbunam) to the NFL and just watching him fine tune those small things that they needed to fix, it was a big eye opener for me.”
For Finley, bringing Parker aboard in Norman was a no-brainer as well.
Parker, Finley said, is a player who will do anything it takes to win, even if it means he’s just trying to help spring running plays all game. That’s a level of selflessness Finley said he’s always happy to add to the mix.
“If you talk to anybody on our football team right now, they say that guy’s someone I want to play with,” Finely said of Parker. “I’ve got chill bumps just talking about him because he doesn’t care if he catches the ball. That’s what makes him special.
“… In addition to that, he’s bringing the young guys along. He wants to get those guys involved. He’s extremely smart, he’s extremely intelligent… When he entered the portal, I told (Jeff Lebby), ‘This guy is a special guy.’ A special player but a special person.”
Since joining up with the Sooners, the hard work to improve has already begun.
Parker said he’s working with Finely to continue and fine tune his technique, as he knows he’ll need to be even better as he takes a step up in competition every day on the practice field.
“I can’t make any false moves,” Parker said. “I love the contact and I love it. But every player on that defense is legit. So I have to make sure that my technique (is good) and I’m going full speed every time. It’s a big difference being here.”
He’s looking to add to his pass blocking abilities as well, as Parker looks to take on a bigger role in a more wide open offense than what he played in at Missouri.
“I felt like I was a pretty decent blocker,” Parker said. “But there’s a lot of things I lacked. Like perimeter blocking and maybe my first steps. I kind of just had the physical pieces of it. Once I latch on I’m a pretty good blocker. But things like first steps and perimeter blocking I felt like coach Finley is really good at teaching those things.”
Daniel Parker is already loving life under Joe Jon Finley again as he continues to become a better pass blocker at Oklahoma
Calvin Mattheis / USA TODAY NETWORK
All of Parker’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed either.
Running back Eric Gray said Parker stood out from the moment he arrived on campus and that he’ll be looking Parker’s way any time he’s on the field.
“DP is strong,” Gray said last week. “He’s in my workout group and I noticed it from day one. I was like ‘this guy is kind of strong.’ We did tug-of-war in the winter and we could see that he is strong. He’s done a great job. Once he gets his hands on you, you’re not letting go. I’m running behind him a lot.”
In the pass catching department, Parker has only hauled in 41 career catches for 337 yards and four touchdowns.
He said he always wants to become a more well-rounded player, but he’s just focused on doing anything the coaches ask of him, even if it means the ball isn’t ever thrown his way.
“Whatever Coach Lebby and Coach (Brent) Venables want out of me, I’m here to give it to them,” Parker said. “I’m here to serve the team.
“The team is first for me. Whether that be zero catches all season and 50 pancakes. I’m fine with that. That makes my day. As long as the team is where we need to be, I’m fine.”
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