The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted its new members on Saturday, as the nine-person class of 2023 accepted their gold jackets. The induction ceremony can be motivational to aspiring football players, and even to current members of the NFL.
Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons was one player who was inspired by the weekend, so much so that he made a bold prediction on Saturday.
“When you talk about great careers, [when] you talk about the Hall of Fame, like I don't think I just want to make the Hall of Fame. I just want to be known as one of the greatest Hall of Famers,” Parsons said, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “There’s categories to everything. There’s good. There’s great and there’s like, perfect...When you talk about me, I don’t want to just be mentioned in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that's a great accolade, but I want to be one of the greatest in the Hall of Fame.”
In just two seasons, Parsons has already established himself as a top tier defensive talent totaling 26.5 sacks and 149 tackles in 33 regular season games. At just 24 years old, the linebacker/pass rusher still believes he can reach even greater heights.
Playing for the Cowboys certainly helps Parsons’s exposure, and he was inspired by seeing former Dallas pass rusher DeMarcus Ware inducted this weekend.
“Talk about a guy that set the standard. Twenty-sack seasons, I mean a guy who's just outright dominated in his prime and went out in the right way,” Parsons said. “I couldn’t be more excited for him. I thought he was a first-ballot guy. A guy that I looked up to.”
Parsons also named Michael Strahan, Deion Sanders and even future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald as players who separated themselves from the rest of the greats, and that is what he wants to do himself.
