Parker Always Has Been a Quick Starter : Pro football: Huntington Beach native is a late bloomer who did not play in high school. He has made an impact on the Buffalo Bills as a rookie.

One of the Buffalo Bills’ newest offensive linemen doesn’t know the meaning of one of the most common terms in football: the bench.

Glenn Parker, a third-round draft pick from the University of Arizona, wouldn’t know what to do if he were sent there. He’s had virtually no experience with it.

Rookie offensive linemen in the NFL usually are brought along slowly, but Parker made a good first impression, then started at left tackle in place of holdout Will Wolford in each of the team’s four exhibition games.

“(Parker) has unshakeably earned a starting spot, something that is very, very hard to do,” said Tom Bresnahan, Buffalo’s offensive line coach. “(He is) a very talented guy, who’s obviously had the benefit of good instruction and no bad habits.”

When the regular season began and Wolford signed and reclaimed left tackle, Parker was moved to right guard, where he started in the Bills’ victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the season opener.

He’s been there since.

Not bad for a late bloomer.

The Huntington Beach native never rode the bench at Edison High, simply because he didn’t play organized sports there.

He got his first taste of football only after friends and coaches at Golden West College in Huntington Beach talked him into trying out for the team. After playing backup offensive tackle his first year, Parker started every game for the Rustlers during the 1987 season, then was offered scholarships by four-year schools all over the country.

And after starting every game in his two seasons at Arizona, Parker was chosen All-Pacific 10 last year and invited to play in the Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala.

At 6 feet 6 and 305 pounds, Parker has size, but his coaches say that his attitude may be the key to his success.

“He’s a big, huge guy with tremendous athletic tools,” Bresnahan said. “His temperament toward the game, is as good . . . as I’ve ever been around in my years of coaching.”

Said Ray Shackleford, coach at Golden West: “He had a lot of just innate, native ability to begin with. He can run . . . you can’t coach that. He’s got good speed, he’s got good feet, he’s got real good quickness. He’s explosive, he has the right temperament. He has a lot of things all big guys don’t have. You get a guy with that kind of talent, then you can coach him and the coaching is going to be rewarding.”

Parker figures his late start in football might have worked to his advantage.

“I’m glad I didn’t play in high school,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about the injuries or burnout that a lot of guys face at this stage in their career. One of the things I hated about high school athletics was the cockiness of some of the athletes. I had a good high school life without football, got to view it from both sides.”

Parker also doesn’t take much of the credit for his ability. He says his coaches have been the driving force behind his success.

“Coach (Dennis) Dixon was hard on me,” Parker said of his former line coach at Golden West. “He kept me down to earth, made me learn the game.”

Parker’s speed has been recognized as one of his major assets. Ron McBride, former offensive line coach at Arizona and now head coach at the University of Utah, recruited Parker for the Wildcats and clocked him at 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard dash, fast for a man his size.

Parker showed that speed in an exhibition against the Chicago Bears when he saved a touchdown by chasing down cornerback Maurice Douglass in the fourth quarter and putting him out of bounds at the two-yard line after Douglass had intercepted a pass.

“Glenn’s a real athletic guy, very skilled for the position he plays,” McBride said. “It’s not just his size. He’s got good feet and he’s tenacious.”

During training camp, Parker worked opposite defensive end Bruce Smith and held his own. Smith, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is considered one of the best in the league at his position.

“We expected something from him, but nobody here expected him to perform as well as this,” Bresnahan said. “He certainly is a plus for us. . . . I expect he’ll have a remarkable career.”