Derek Parish

An all-district player at Pearland High School, Parish stayed close to home, signing with the Cougars. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in all 13 games as a reserve and on special teams (21 tackles, two for loss with 1.5 sacks). Parish started four of 12 games played in 2019 (38 tackles, 5.5 for loss with two sacks) and five of eight appearances in 2020 (25 tackles, 5.5 for loss with 3.5 sacks). He started on defense and at fullback in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl. Parish was a 14-game starter and second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection in 2021, posting 54 tackles, 12 for loss with five sacks. Parish was dominating over the first four games of the 2022 campaign (20 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss with five sacks, three starts), but his season was cut short by a torn bicep. -- by Chad Reuter

An all-district player at Pearland High School, Parish stayed close to home, signing with the Cougars. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in all 13 games as a reserve and on special teams (21 tackles, two for loss with 1.5 sacks). Parish started four of 12 games played in 2019 (38 tackles, 5.5 for loss with two sacks) and five of eight appearances in 2020 (25 tackles, 5.5 for loss with 3.5 sacks). He started on defense and at fullback in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl. Parish was a 14-game starter and second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection in 2021, posting 54 tackles, 12 for loss with five sacks. Parish was dominating over the first four games of the 2022 campaign (20 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss with five sacks, three starts), but his season was cut short by a torn bicep. -- by Chad Reuter