FRISCO, Texas – We've all seen the highlights of Micah Parsons as a player at Penn State. But one of the reasons he might have fallen down to No. 12 was the fear of some off-the-field issues that popped up during the draft process.
Parsons' maturity was called into question when he was accused as being one of the ring leaders in an alleged hazing incident at Penn State involving teammates and other students.
But even without a scouting combine to do a thorough interview process with Parsons in person, the Cowboys made sure they found out all the details of the situation.
"We did a tremendous amount of homework," Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said. "We felt good about it, backwards, forwards and every which way he can do it."
Parsons said he told the Cowboys the same thing he said to all of the team that questioned him bout the incident.
"They did all their background checks, and I let them know the truth," Parsons said. "There's nothing pending against me. Everything was dropped and all that type of stuff. They were false allegations. I never got to speak on my name because it's hard to say that while you're in the process, but obviously, they did their background. They know I'm not a character concern at all. I think I'm a great person, and I'm going to keep becoming a better father and person every day, not only for myself but for my entire family. And Cowboys nation, now I got to represent them every day too."
Parsons was asked by the Dallas media Thursday night if he was ever concerned by the allegations having an effect on his draft status.
"Concerned? No. You only get concerned if it's true," Parsons said. "I knew it was false, and if I were to fall it's because God wanted me to fall. I believe everything happens for a reason. I'm here for a reason. I put it in the air, and I spoke this into existence. Now, I got a great opportunity to do something great here."
