Goal No. 10: NEVER GIVE UP. Never, never, never.

#10 Jacob Parrish

True Freshman | 5-10 | 177 lbs. | Olathe, Kansas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Cornerback
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Redshirt
• Status: On Scholarship

Jacob Parrish (b. Feb. 29, 2004) is an electric young defensive back from Olathe North High School who likely will redshirt in 2022. His older brother, Jevon, is a wrestler at Nebraska.

A February addition to the 2022 class, Jacob prepped under head coach Chris McCartney at Olathe North, where he earned all-state honors as a senior from Sports in Kansas.

A dynamic player who played defensive back, running back and wide receiver for the Eagles, Parrish totaled 137 career tackles — including 55 as a senior — to go along with six interceptions and 21 total passes defended.

He also rushed for 1,951 career yards and 22 touchdowns while hauling in 69 passes for 1,313 yards and another 15 scores, setting the school record for career receiving yards.

Parrish also competed in basketball and in track and field as a prep. He selected K-State over offers from Air Force, Army, Dartmouth, New Mexico State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State, as well as interest from Kent State.

Here’s what head coach Chris Klieman had to say about Parrish on National Signing Day:

Jacob’s a defensive back... He’s a phenomenal athlete, could be a receiver, great kick and punt returner. We’ve been contacting and communicating with him since he came here for camp in the summer, but kind of kept it under the radar a little bit because we thought we had a real gem there, a hidden gem with Jacob. He’s extremely fast, extremely physical, very athletic and excited to have another Olathe North product here.

Klieman explained the original plan to “blueshirt” Parrish eventually went by the wayside:

A little bit of both. The fact that I’ve been recruiting him a lot myself and saw him at camp, saw how competitive he was. Went and saw him in school. He’s gotten bigger, gained some weight, gotten stronger. Talked to his head coach, and we’re just not letting this kid go. We’re going to sign him today. He and his family visited last weekend. So, fortunate that we were able to sign him today.

I’d say that’s some pretty high praise by a guy who knows his defensive backs! (Jacob has a couple speedy younger brothers, Jason and Joshua, K-Staters might want to monitor, too.)