Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola Surprise Texas Tech Walk-on with Scholarship

Texas Tech safety Justus Parker had an awfully good season. He has played in all 12 of the Red Raiders’ games, starting six, and is sixth on the team with 42
Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola Surprise Texas Tech Walk-on with Scholarship
Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola Surprise Texas Tech Walk-on with Scholarship /

Texas Tech safety Justus Parker had an awfully good season. He has played in all 12 of the Red Raiders’ games, starting six, and is sixth on the team with 42 total tackles. He was named Second-Team All-Big 12. Not bad for a walk-on. 

Parker obviously deserves to be put on scholarship, so that’s just what head coach Kliff Kingsbury did—and he did it with flair. Kingsbury enlisted Texas Tech great Danny Amendola to deliver the news, and Gronk got involved, too. 

Parker played one season at Division-III Texas Lutheran before transferring to Tech. He redshirted last season and made an immediate impact once he was eligible to suit up this year. 


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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).