Scratched by a Rose : Bowl-Game Injury Pains Parkinson as His Concerns for a Pro Career Grow

It was supposed to be a simple home movie. It was supposed to be a happy film. It was supposed to be the Parkinson family’s final chapter in the chronicle of the four-year USC football career of their son, Brent, as he played in his third and final Rose Bowl game.

What was planned was “Chariots of Fire.” But what the Parkinsons got, faster than you can say medial collateral ligament, was “Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Parkinson, a four-year starter on the USC offensive line, appears on the New Year’s Day home movie in a blur, charging from the tunnel at the Rose Bowl and engaging his teammates in raucous hand-slapping moments before the game against Michigan is to begin. At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, a few of his zealous high-fives nearly topple smaller teammates onto the Rose Bowl turf.

The game begins, and Parkinson is shown hammering away at two Michigan linemen in the first few plays. And then, suddenly, he is sitting on a trainer’s table on the USC sideline, his face etched in pain.

End of film. End of collegiate career.

“It was just six plays into the game,” Parkinson said. “It was a running play for Leroy Holt and I found my linebacker and got a good hit on him. Then the pile formed and it was kind of a stalemate. Then someone fell on my foot, someone else fell against my leg and I felt my right knee collapse inward. And I heard something pop.”

The injury was diagnosed as a ligament strain. It required no surgery and doctors say Parkinson could be back at full strength in six to eight weeks.

That, of course, doesn’t ease the burning disappointment the former Canyon High standout feels these days as he hobbles about the USC campus, his injured knee strapped into a heavy metal brace as his mind dances back to a Rose Bowl game that was supposed to be a final showcase for his skills, a game his team won over Michigan, 17-10.

And the favorable prognosis doesn’t do much to ease Parkinson’s worries about his future, either.

Six to eight weeks is not when he needs his knee back. He needs it back at the end of this month, when he and hundreds of other college players gather at the invitation-only NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, where many futures will be decided.

Parkinson, who was named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference team as a guard after a sterling senior season, got his invitation to the NFL prospects’ camp Jan. 2, the day after the injury.

“It was the first piece of mail I opened,” he said. “I just thought to myself, ‘Oh, terrific. I’ll still go and take the written tests and maybe do some bench-press stuff. But I won’t be able to run.’

“I have plenty of films showing me in action against some of the best defensive linemen in the country. I have the films, and maybe I can get some NFL teams to look at them. But I don’t know how much this injury will mean to them. I know it will make it harder for me to get a shot at the NFL, though.”

Parkinson, it seems, has made a career of hardships.

His current knee injury is neither his first nor his most severe. That dubious honor was given to a 1987 injury to his left knee that required surgery early in 1988 to repair the cruciate ligament. But with great dedication and countless painful hours in the gym, he came back from that injury to regain a starting job for the final five games of the 1988 season.

Then, early in 1989, when he was at full strength for the first time in a year, another bomb dropped. He was ruled academically ineligible at USC and had to miss spring practice as he took makeup courses at Cal State Northridge. Parkinson completed the classes, however, rejoined the team before the season and regained his starting position after the first game.

“Brent has had a few opportunities to quit, but he’s always come back,” his father, Bill, said. “I expect he’ll do it again this time.”

When Parkinson hobbled from the Rose Bowl field, his father came quickly from his seat and made his way to the sideline. There, father and son were captured by NBC cameras in a most emotional moment.

“I’ve seen the TV film a few times,” Bill Parkinson said, “and I can’t describe the feeling it gives. Here’s this 6-foot-6, 260-pound kid with his head on my shoulder. But no matter how big he might be, he will always be my little boy. And I know this kid’s hopes and dreams better than anyone, and I know they include playing pro football one day.

“At that moment in the Rose Bowl, as we sat there together, it seemed all those hopes and dreams were gone, and it was, well, there hasn’t been a sadder moment in my life.”

In the days since, however, with the diagnosis of a strained ligament that should heal with rest, the spirit of both Parkinsons has been lifted. And, according to USC Coach Larry Smith, the next chapter in the Parkinson story could be the best one of all.

“Brent had an excellent career here,” Smith said. “This year he really reached his potential, as evidenced by his making the All-Pac-10 team. I think his past success was clouded somewhat by the knee injury, but I really believe his best football is ahead of him. He will be a strong consideration in the NFL draft.”

Which is all Brent Parkinson has ever wanted. Just to be considered. Just to get a chance.

“The NFL has been a dream for a long time,” he said. “I came to USC because I knew I’d get to play against the best defensive people in the country. I did that, and I proved I can handle them. I know I can pull out of the line and get on my man. I’ve proved it to myself. Now I have to hope I’ve proved it to others.”

The results will be known late in April, when the NFL holds its draft. In the meantime, Parkinson will attend the scouting combine and try to convince NFL team officials that he deserves a chance. He will bring reels of game film and a load of dreams.

And both he and his father hope that over the next few months, the scarred memories of a Rose Bowl gone wrong will fade.

But they might linger a bit longer for Bill Parkinson than they do for his son.

“Your own hopes and dreams go with your children,” he said. “Brent had such a great feeling going into that game and then, in an instant, they seemed to vanish.

“The sadness I felt for him that day is still with me. But I think I’ll get over this. And I think Brent will overcome this obstacle too.”