RIP Bobby Parsons: Joe Paterno’s worst personnel decision?

Bobby Parsons could have been a great QB -- spent 12 professional years as a punter

... They had a 22-game winning streak to protect, but Joe chose the wrong QB

He was a fabulous punter, but the Nittany Lion faithful were simply salivating about his taking over as QB of the Penn State football team. Entering the 1970 season, the Lions were protecting a 22-game winning streak, but they had lost some fabulous players to graduation. 

Altoona’s Mike Reid, the All-American defensive lineman, and All-American linebacker Denny Onkotz, for starters. 

However, they had a great nucleus coming back — including All-American linebacker Jack Ham — with some tremendous young talent. 

If only Joe Paterno would start Bobby Parsons at QB. 

And after the spring game that year, the fans were even more ecstatic about Parsons. He was the quintessential drop-back QB for the time, standing about 6-5 and weighing about 220. He could throw the deep ball, the short pass — he could do it all. 

Joe, however, had other ideas. He wanted to be the first major college coach to start a black QB. 

And it was a costly mistake. Big-time. 

The details

Bobby Parsons passed away this week, and the Chicago Bears announced his passing on their website. However, instead of talking about him as a QB, he was described as a punter/tight end. 

Joe started Mike Cooper, and after five games, the Nittany Lions were 2-3. He paid for that mistake. 

They had two fabulous sophomore running backs in Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell. The offense was lacking just one thing: a leader at QB.

After a humiliating 24-7 loss to Syracuse on Homecoming Day, Paterno saw the handwriting on the wall. He had to bench Cooper. 

Instead of swallowing his pride and inserting Parsons, he made a decision that inadvertently proved to be fortuitous.  

He then started sophomore John Hufnagel for the next game against Army, and the next four after that, winning every one of them and finishing 7-3 after the Mike Cooper debacle. 

1970 Season

I remember this particularly since it was my senior year at Penn State. After an overwhelming 55-7 victory over Navy, the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 4 in the national Top 20.

Then disaster struck. They traveled to Colorado and the Buffaloes ended their 23-game winning streak, 41-13. The following week they flew to Madison, Wisconsin, where they lost to the Badgers, 29-16, knocking them out of the Top 20.

After a victory over Boston College, the Lions put together one of the most humiliating homecoming performances in Joe Paterno’s tenure with the loss to Syracuse. 

Then Hufnagel took over, but they were 2-3 and out of the top 20. After the 38-14 victory over Army, they defeated West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio University, and Pitt, but it was not enough to get them a bowl bid. 

A frustrating end to a season in which they had been ranked fourth in the country [James Franklin fans can relate to this]. 

Suffered from CTE, Alzheimer’s

The shame is that this decision changed the role for Bobby Parsons. He was such a great athlete and punter that he spent 12 years with the Bears doing the kicking and playing tight end. 

But there still is in my mind an idea of how well he could have done if he had played two full years at the PSU QB. Certainly, Hufnagel became an All-American, but it did not redeem the 1970 debacle. 

Perhaps JoePa made a more egregious personnel decision in his career, but I can remember this one that still sticks in my craw. 

According to Parsons’ obituary, he may have suffered from CTE and Alzheimer’s Disease. Here is that remembrance,

• Selected by the Bears in the fifth round of the 1972 draft out of Penn State, Parsons played his entire 12-year NFL career in Chicago from 1972-83, appearing in 170 games. He served as their primary punter throughout that time, averaging 38.7 yards on a franchise-record 884 punts. He led the NFL in both punts and punt yardage in 1981 and 1982.
• Parsons also played tight end, making 10 of 11 career starts at the position in 1975, when he caught 13 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. He finished his career with 19 receptions for 231 yards and four TDs.
• Parsons spent the final year of his football career playing in the USFL with the Birmingham Stallions. He later became a real estate appraiser and enjoyed playing tennis and golf and bowling.
• According to his obituary, Parsons is survived by his wife, Denise J. (nee Feliccia); children, Michelle (Steve Cunningham) Parsons, Greg (Thomas Smith) Parsons, and Mallory Parsons; two grandchildren, Carlee Parsons and Michael Parsons Avelar; sister, Kathy (David) Lane; brother, David (Sandee) Parsons; mother-in-law, Carole Feliccia; brother-in-law, Steve (Natalie) Feliccia and many nieces and nephews.
• He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbert and Catherine "Kitty" (nee Brittain) Parsons, and father-in-law, Jack Feliccia.
• A memorial visitation will be held on Sunday, July 17 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 941 S. Old Rand Rd, in Lake Zurich. Immediately following the visitation, a reception will take place at the Hawthorn Woods Country Club (1 Tournament Dr. N) in Hawthorn Woods.
• Memorial donations may be made in Parsons' honor to Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601, Alz.org/donate or to the Boston University CTE Fund, 72 East Concord Street, Suite B-7800, Boston MA 02118.