IC Catholic’s KJ Parker has scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State and Wisconsin and is attracting attention from many other big-time college programs.
It’s a situation that Parker, a junior receiver/defensive back, didn’t imagine when he was younger.
“Coming from where I came from, I never thought I’d get to this high of a level and develop my game to where I have all these Big Ten schools interested in me and where I’m going to get the opportunity to play at that high level of football,” he said.
“I want to take advantage of all my chances in every aspect possible, the biggest things or the smallest things. I truly take advantage of speaking to college coaches and building connections.”
Parker moved around a bit growing up. He eventually went to Roosevelt Middle School in Bellwood and played for the Hillside Hurricanes.
“I moved from Aurora to Naperville to Maywood, now Bellwood,” Parker said. “I was living in apartments when I was young. Playing on the middle school team I played on, I never expected to be at this level. I didn’t know how good I was or how I’d compare to all these other kids and if I’d be able to compete.”
Parker has blossomed into one of the state’s top players. Rivals ranks him at No. 13 in Illinois in the junior class.
After standing out at defensive back last season, when he had eight interceptions, Parker has been one of the most productive receivers around in 2022. Through six games for the Knights (5-1), he had 17 catches for 661 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He’s explosive in all aspects of the game,” IC Catholic coach Bill Krefft said. “He’s like a Swiss Army knife that can do everything for you. His attention to detail in every aspect is pretty special.
“On offense, he’s really improved his route running, his ability to get to certain spots and be available. (Quarterback Dennis Mandala) and him have been working together for three years now, and they know how to work together, and that makes them really difficult to stop.”
Finding his home
Parker’s first sports love was baseball. He started football only when he was asked for help.
“I played baseball for eight years,” Parker said. “One of my neighbors coached with the Hillside Hurricanes and asked me if I wanted to play football. I was always watching it, so I said I’d love to play. The rest is history.”
Parker felt some abilities kicking in right away. Then it was time to fine-tune his skills.
“I feel like it clicked right away because I felt like anything athletic I could do well at,” he said. “I was a good baseball player, but when I got to football, it clicked in a lot of aspects. I just had to learn the fundamentals, and I realized there are a lot of other athletic people like me, so I knew I had to work hard to get better.”
When it came time to pick a high school, Parker was prepared to go the private route — but not to IC Catholic.
“It was a crazy story,” he said. “I originally was going to go to Mount Carmel. I went to their summer camp for about a month and a half. My mom decided she didn’t want me going all the way out there. In order to get there, I’d have to wake up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. every day. My mom decided to financially commit me to IC.”
Parker was disappointed initially. But the more time he spent at IC Catholic, the more he knew he had ended up in the right place.
“At first, I was upset about it,” Parker said. “I think all freshmen go through this, but I didn’t like the school at all at first. I wanted to transfer.
“But the more you experience it, the more you feel included with everybody. Being such a small school, you feel like you know everybody, compared to being at a public school. Everybody’s nice to you, everybody knows you. I love that. IC definitely grew on me, and I love the school now, and I love playing here.”
Parker has embraced that small-school mentality in the classroom and on the field, where the Knights have fewer than 30 kids on the varsity roster and where playing on both sides of the ball is common.
“Going against bigger schools, they always see kids going both ways for us and are like, ‘Oh, they can’t handle that. We’re going to run them into the ground,'” Parker said. “That makes us work harder. I don’t think people understand the training we put in to be able to go both ways.
“We have 25 kids on our varsity roster, but that just makes us play with more of an edge. Being overlooked and feeling like the little guy in the fight, that fires us up. We love to be underrated.”
Finding his position
Parker already was heavily involved in the Knights’ offense last season, when he had 27 catches for 465 yards and four touchdowns.
It was on the defensive side, though, where Parker made his biggest impression on college coaches. As he continued to make interceptions, he heard more and more from recruiters.
Parker was happy for the interest and remains open to playing anywhere in college, but he wanted to show coaches more of what he could do at receiver.
“When I was going to a lot of college visits my sophomore year, coaches were seeing me more as a defensive player,” Parker said. “I agreed with that. I had eight interceptions last year, and even I thought I was going to be more of a defensive guy.
“But I love offense more than anything. I think it grew on me as far as knowing how important it was and how big of a role I could play on offense.”
With the numbers he has put up this season, Parker feels like he is showcasing his offensive skills. At 5 feet 11, he has a chip on his shoulder to prove he can play receiver at a high level.
“Right now, I’m top 10 in the state in receiving yards, and I think I’m showing recruiters and everybody what I can do,” Parker said. “Most receivers are 6-foot-2 or above, but even at 5-foot-11 I think I’m still dangerous on the offensive side of the ball.
“That’s what truly motivates me. Even though I’m technically undersized as a receiver, I want to show them how dominant I am on the offensive side of the ball.”
Parker has long idolized top receivers and imagined himself in their shoes.
“Growing up, I always wanted to play offense,” he said. “My favorite players were Odell Beckham Jr. and Stefon Diggs. I loved Stefon when he was on the Vikings and Odell since he was in New York.”
Parker believes playing both receiver and defensive back can only benefit him.
“I feel like doing both is really helpful,” he said. “You see both sides of the ball. On defense, as a receiver, you can scan the field and think about what type of play they might run next or what the receivers might do when you see the way they’re lined up.
“I like playing both because I like staying on the field.”
‘Ring year’?
Parker and Mandala are clicking at a high level to lead an offense that is averaging 47 points a game.
That quarterback-receiver connection has developed over the past three seasons.
“We’ve been really good friends since freshman year,” Mandala said. “Ever since I met him, we clicked with me being the quarterback and him being the receiver. We have a really tight relationship, and I know with each route he’s running where he’s going to be and when he’s going to be there.”
Parker certainly appreciates having a quarterback he knows he can trust.
“Playing with Dennis is always fun,” Parker said. “He’s highly underlooked. He might be short for a quarterback, but he understands the game so much. Having a quarterback who understands what we’re doing on offense and sees the field so well is one of the best things to have as a receiver.
“Playing with him since we were younger, whether I was his teammate or playing against him, it’s always been great. I just appreciate being around him, on the field or off the field. He’s a great guy in every aspect.”
Mandala said he is impressed with Parker’s drive and how he pushes himself to keep getting better.
“His work ethic makes him great,” Mandala said. “In the offseason, he’s always training, always working and wanting to be the best.”
IC Catholic has rolled to big wins in five of its first six games, with the only setback being a 23-22 heartbreaker against defending Class 4A state champion Joliet Catholic.
The Knights, who reached the Class 3A state semifinals a year ago and fell just short in a 15-14 loss to eventual champion Byron, are among the favorites to win it all this season. Parker hopes to lead them there.
“I know this is definitely the ring year,” Parker said. “I feel like whatever we have coming for us, we definitely deserve it. We’ve been working really hard. We fell short in the semifinals last year, but this should definitely be our year. We have an amazing coaching staff and great players, and I feel like we shouldn’t lose to anybody, even though we lost to Joliet Catholic by one point.
“I feel like this is the year for us at IC.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.