Wake Forest Traditions
 DaLawn Parrish Defies The OddsThe senior free safety says 'Life is not based on wins and losses'.
By Sam Walker DaLawn Parrish is a man without a hometown and a man who defies the odds. He is listed as a native of Columbia, Md., but the truth is Parrish really doesn't know exactly where his hometown is. "My father always jokes with me about that," Parrish said. "He just says 'you're from Maryland, son.' " Growing up, Parrish moved with his mother, Phyllis Parrish, eight different times, but he was always the man of the house. Parrish grew up in a single-parent home. He attended school in eight different school districts in Maryland and went to two different high schools. He graduated from Columbia's Howard High, where he distinguished himself as an all-metro defensive back by both the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post. But he never really had a place where he ever was able to put down roots, although he was always somewhere in the seemingly endless suburbs of Baltimore. Parrish's story is so intriguing because he seems to know where he has come from, exuding an understanding of life of a person wise beyond his years, and he also knows where he is going. The senior free safety deadpans the story of his youth but admits occasional conversations with his father, Michael Parish, have made him realize the things he has been able to accomplish are quite unique. He has always been a gifted student, coming to Wake Forest as a member of the National Honor Society, and he has earned ACC All-Academic honors three years. He has a chance this season to become only the fourth player in ACC history to be named to the conference's all-academic team in four seasons. Parrish graduated with his degree in history last May and is now enrolled in the Master Teaching Fellows program. "My father keeps telling me, you don't know what you've done," Parrish said. "But when someone older breaks it down for you, people tell you, you can't do a lot of things in your life." Parrish never really heard those people who kept telling him he couldn't. He listened but never heard. He survived multiple moves and negative environments. But he hasn't forgotten their lessons. "It's difficult when you're young and trying to fit in," he said. "It wasn't a world-class neighborhood. I had to do some bad things in order to fit in. But my mother instilled in me some values and set some boundaries so I knew how to choose right from wrong. She was always trying to move us out of a bad environment. That's the reason for all the moving. But I've seen people get shot, crackheads shooting other crackheads." He managed to fit in with his peers probably because football is usually universally accepted in every neighborhood. He played in the local recreation leagues and always excelled. When he lived in Severn, Md., he played for the Severn Seminoles. His accomplishments there, as well as his accomplishments since leaving prompted an induction into the Severn Football League's Hall of Fame last year the same weekend his Wake Forest team took on Maryland in College Park. He spoke to over 150 boys in the Severn league during the induction ceremony. "I told them not to let their environment dictate what they could become in life," Parrish said. "Just because people around you do bad things doesn't mean you have to do bad things. I thanked the parents for supporting their children because that's deep. My father supported me every weekend, but my mother sacrificed a lot for my brother and me. She took me to all my games. I don't know how many people who grew up in my situation can say that." Parrish's decisions to stay the straight and narrow were actually supported by his peers. "By being so good in sports, when it came time to break the law they would ask me what I was even doing there," he said. "I always hung around older people because they would pick me to play on their teams (in neighborhood games). I was always a straight A student and star athlete, so they tried to pull me out of those situations." His good grades and athletic abilities made him attractive to many major football programs, but Parrish chose Wake Forest even though it joined the recruiting process late. Michigan told him he was too small to play, and Penn State offered him a scholarship, but he felt pressured to accept its offer quickly before having a chance to compare it offer with any others. Coach Jim Caldwell made a recruiting visit to Parrish's home, and because he said he felt like he was needed and not just wanted, he became a Demon Deacon. Maryland called and offered a scholarship the night before he was to sign with Wake Forest, but Parrish didn't feel its late interest was all that sincere. He came to the Wake Forest campus and experienced something he had never experienced before - losing. Parrish was to be part of Caldwell's building process, but wins were few and far between. "I took winning for granted because I had always won," he said. And the academic requirements were also wearing on him. "I didn't think I could make it," he said. "I figured I'd take something like religion, and that would be easy. But I was writing five papers a week, and rewriting them three times. It was overwhelming. I asked Coach Caldwell why he brought me here if I couldn't make it and all he would say was, 'You can do it Parrish.' " Parrish dug in and finished his first collegiate semester with a 3.4 grade point average. But losing has never set well with Parrish. Over the past five years Wake Forest has compiled a 15-40 overall record. In 1996 Parrish was sidelined with a stress fracture in his lower back that added to his frustration. But that injury only represents another hurdle he has now cleared. This year, Wake Forest is off to its best start since 1987. But Parrish says not even a bowl game can take away the tough years and losses he has endured. "It would be sweet to have a winning season and trip to a bowl game, but it could never ease the pain I've experienced with my classmates," he said. "There are a lot of good things about Wake Forest, and your life is not based on wins and losses. But we are and have been dedicated to winning. "If you look at our program and other programs, even though we have struggled, we're all still here. Nobody has transferred. That shows we're not going to quit. We want nothing more than to make this a breakthrough season for all the people who have stood by us, for those who have stayed even when we were losing." Parrish is dedicating his senior season to the memory of Byron Jones, a close childhood friend from Maryland who was murdered last year. Parrish and Jones began playing football together at age 11. Parrish had spoken to him about some of the choices he had been making with his life and had urged him to change some of them. He was murdered before those changes could take place, according to Parrish. The dedication honors the friendship he had with Jones, but it's a reminder of where he has come from, and who he is. |
