Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons is a legit Heisman Trophy candidate

Don’t sleep on Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons crashing the Heisman party.

Penn State football knows a thing or two about producing great linebackers.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are known as Linebacker U for a reason. From Jack Ham to LaVar Arrington to Paul Posluszny, Penn State gets more out of its legendary linebacker than your favorite college football team. Next up for linebacking greatness in Happy Valley is junior Micah Parsons. What if he is this year’s Chase Young and gets invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony?

In two years with the Nittany Lions, Parsons has been named First-Team All-Big Ten, First-Team All-American and Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. With Young now on the Washington Redskins, it’s time for Parsons to be the best defensive player in the Big Ten this year. So if you’re not on the Parsons for Heisman hype train, check out this highlight video and try to not be convinced.

If that doesn’t do it for you, how about this tweet from Parsons himself he sent out on Wednesday afternoon. “Scary part is I ain’t even my best yet…”

Still not convinced? Well, you will be after hearing what CBS Sports college football analyst Bryant McFadden said about Parsons and the 2020 Nittany Lions. “The best defensive player in the country, Micah Parsons, is going to make Penn State one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten.”

Can Micah Parsons crash the Heisman Trophy party like Chase Young did?

At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Parsons has the frame to be a superstar linebacker both in college and at the professional level. McFadden sees him as a top-three pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In two years at Penn State, Parsons has 191 total tackles, 18 for a loss of yardage and 6.5 going for sacks. He also has six forced fumbles, five pass breakups and a fumble recovery in two years.

The talent and the production is there. Playing linebacker at a school like Penn State where the Nittany Lions have been the gold standard of the position certainly helps Parsons’ potential Heisman case. But what this really comes down to is if the Nittany Lions will win enough to be in the College Football Playoff conversation. If they can win the Big Ten, anything is possible.

The biggest reason Young made it to New York last season is that he was the best defensive player in the country on one of the best teams in Ohio State.

Penn State needs to beat division rival Ohio State this year, but with the game being in State College, that could totally be in play. James Franklin’s team is one of the best programs in the country that hasn’t played in the playoff yet.

If Penn State can win the Big Ten, Parsons has a great shot of getting to the Heisman ceremony.

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