Cory Parks has a few things to think about in the current football off-season.
First, how he’ll fare in his senior season with the Huskies. Already a key cog to any offensive production Northeastern compiled during his first three years, Parks will be dealing with a new quarterback while acting as a senior veteran.
Second, what he and his team will do to reverse the fortunes of a testing 5-6 campaign last year.
Third, whether or not he’ll continue his unheard of success rate in the film room.
“I can tell you that on tape, during all last season, I can remember only one pass thrown on his way that he didn’t catch,” Northeastern coach Rocky Hager said of the wide receiver. “It’s that type of consistency that merits an All-American type honor.”
The news wire Sports Network agreed with that sentiment, as it honored the distinguinshed athlete with a spot on its Preseason All-America Second Team on June 6.
The decision by the Network may have been easy to predict for many who have followed Parks’ successful career in the red and black, especially considering his 65 catches, 1,096 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, all second on the team’s single-season receiving list.
“The irony is, the Sports Network is recognizing what we already knew in the first place about [Parks],” Hager said.
Parks’ reaction consisted of appreciation for the Network, but at the same time he has to deal with his emotions on what will be his final year of competitive football.
“I definitely see it as a sign of respect from the Sports Network,” Parks said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet though, that this is possibly my last year, and I’ve been playing since I was 8. I’m kind of taking it in stride right now, because I want to go out with a bang.”
The talent of Parks is something that has been obvious to the Northeasten football program and the Atlantic-10 as a whole since his freshman season.
In his debut year, he started all 13 games, leading the team in catches (34), receiving yards (458) and touchdowns (five).
Now, with less than two months until the opening kickoff of the 2005 season, Parks is well within reaching distance of Dave Klemic’s Husky career records of 217 receptions (Parks has 156) and 3,419 receiving yards (2,510).
“He just has an unusual knack to get to footballs that others can’t get to,” Hager explained of Parks, who was a first-team all-Atlantic-10 member last year.
With three years of scouting and good looks from the rest of the Atlantic-10, and with a new quarterback to replace Shawn Brady, Parks will again be targeted as a key offensive threat for the Huskies.
“We have high expectations for him,” Hager said. “There will be a spotlight on him because other teams are definitely aware of him. But we’ll be spreading the ball around and putting his good skills to use.”
Hager mentioned Anthony Orio, a 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound New Jersey native when bringing up the quarterback position. While he did not note any others, he made the point clear that a new quarterback will be an easy transition for Parks.
“[Parks] is the kind of person that will handle it well,” Hager said. “He’ll be just fine. If it’s Anthony Orio, or anyone else, they’ll end up being the beneficiary of [Parks’] skill.”
