Thursday, September 20, 2012

Parker will be a Wildcat Hall of Famer one day, a Tiger the next

DAYTONA BEACH — On Friday, Bethune-Cookman will honor Jeff Parker. On Saturday, he will be the enemy.

The former B-CU receiver is one of 12 former Wildcats who will be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame at 7 p.m. Friday at the Center for Civic Engagement on campus.

 Parker, who is now the quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator and assistant head coach at Tennessee State, will trade his maroon and gold for blue and white on Saturday as the Tigers visit Municipal Stadium to play B-CU in its home opener.

“It's just coincidence that I was going to be there this weekend,'' Parker said. “I got a call maybe three weeks ago that I made the Hall of Fame. I don't think it was planned. But, yes, it's going to be a big weekend. I'm excited about it. I'm excited about the football game. We're excited about having the opportunity to play one of the best teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Parker grew up in Daytona Beach and was a multi-sport star at Seabreeze. He chose to play football at Tennessee State in 1987 but transferred to B-CU after his redshirt freshman season when the Tigers changed coaches.