Micah Parsons had plenty of options coming out of high school before committing to Penn State. Alabama was one of the programs heavily involved in his recruitment, but the future NFL star recently revealed why he ultimately decided Tuscaloosa was not the place for him.
Speaking with former Alabama star Derrick Henry on The Edge with Micah Parsons, Parsons admitted the Crimson Tide’s famously demanding workouts convinced him to look elsewhere.
“I’m going to tell you right now, and this is the god’s honest truth,” Parsons said. “I went to Bama for four days. I went out there. I said, ‘Let me go see what it’s like down south.’ I’m from up north. It was so hot. The workout conditions were so treacherous that I said, ‘There’s no way in hell I can survive up here.’”
Parsons said Alabama invited him to attend its morning workouts during his visit, hoping to showcase the culture Nick Saban built. Instead, it had the opposite effect: “I showed up at 6 a.m.,” Parsons said. “They did like 31-10s. I said, ‘Oh my God!’ And then they did extra if you left earlier.”
The workout schedule didn’t slow down after that: “They said, ‘Come back at six. We work out again,’” Parsons recalled. “I said, ‘Okay.’ Came back at six in the morning. Y’all did like 10 40s in a row. Y’all had to come in within the same time frame. I was like, ‘Dang, they really work over here.’”
Still, Parsons made it clear he respected Alabama’s approach and believed it would help players improve. After experiencing it firsthand though, he realized it wasn’t the right fit.
“I appreciated it,” Parsons said. “You know, I’d definitely get better. But then by the weekend, it was just like, I don’t think I can make it. It was just too much. I just said it, it ain’t for me. Bama ain’t for everybody.”
Alas, Parsons instead signed with Penn State, where he quickly developed into one of college football’s premier defensive players. During two seasons with the Nittany Lions, he totaled 192 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and six forced fumbles before opting out of the 2020 season and declaring for the NFL Draft.
Now with the Green Bay Packers, Parsons is working his way back from a torn ACL suffered late last season. He recently revealed he remains on a strict rehabilitation timeline after also undergoing a procedure to repair his meniscus.
Parsons has said he still has several months remaining in his recovery. Reports indicate he is expected to begin the 2026 season on the physically unable to perform list.
The Packers are taking a cautious approach with one of the league’s premier pass rushers. He recorded 12.5 sacks, earned first-team All-Pro honors and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting during his first season in Green Bay. We’d say his college decision all worked out for him in the end.