<\/aside>\nParsons, meanwhile, has the chance to follow in his mentor Ware’s footsteps if he can continue his multifaceted and impactful performance. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy explained his four-category breakdown of player talent when asked Thursday about Parsons’ growth trajectory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s important to recognize that every one of these players is a really good football player,\u201d McCarthy said. “There’s no such thing as, ‘He can’t play here,’ or ‘That guy is\u2026’ They’re all really good players.”<\/p>\n
But will good players advance into one of three superior categories?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’ve got good players that have great moments,\u201d McCarthy said. “Then the third category is now you got great players that are just individually able to perform at an extremely high level consistently.”<\/p>\n\n
The highest level, McCarthy said, is an \u201celite\u201d player – a player who not only consistently contributes but also makes teammates around him better. Can Parsons jump from Level 3 to Level 4?<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Micah had a lot of great moments last year, but our desire – and it needs to be his desire – is for him to be an elite player, not just a great player,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThe elite ones bring everybody with them. How they work, how they compete in practice, how they compete in the weight room, how they compete at garbage-can basketball in the locker room.<\/p>\n
“He has an opportunity to really make a huge impact in our football team.”<\/p>\n
Parsons has already shifted his demeanor to answer those expectations. Even as he straddles two position groups in a manner no other Cowboys roster member does, Parsons has began speaking up in meeting rooms more frequently this offseason. He no longer feels like the rookie who needs to proverbially shut up and listen. Parsons wants to listen and lead, advising rookie linebackers on when to follow coaches literally and when to let their instincts take over. A few of his tips about him?<\/p>\n
Be a baller. Don’t overthink. Have fun.<\/p>\n
“If you’re going to make a mistake, do it 100%,” Parsons adds, “so that way you fix it and you’re still playing at 100%.”<\/p>\n\n
He tutored Williams in an OTA practice on reading an offensive lineman’s angle to determine whether to rush inside, and encouraged young players to find a dimension of their game in which they can dominate so thoroughly that they inspire fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make them fear the speed and everything else can go off that,\u201d Parsons said. \u201cThey’ve got to respect you in some aspect. They’ve got to fear the speed, fear the power, they’ve got to fear something about you that’s going to make them set just a little bit different.<\/p>\n\n
“Once you show that, then you can do all your counters and all your moves and things you want to show. But they’ve got to respect you in some aspect. “<\/p>\n
Parsons believes Lawrence demands that respect for several reasons, perhaps chiefly of which is Lawrence’s \u201cdog\u201d mentality. Even as the two playfully spar and compete to lead the defense, they each know that the engine will run most smoothly when they complement each other and nine other teammates simultaneously on the field.<\/p>\n
Still, with 101 days until the Cowboys kick off against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, players must largely stoke their competitive fires against teammates. To be elite, as McCarthy said, they must lift themselves and those around them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you play hard, people want to play with you and be on the same page,\u201d Parsons said. \u201cI think him getting someone else who challenges him and plays the same way as him on this defense maybe sparked the (Lawrence) y’all saw from way back when. So I’m excited and he has something in him that I don’t see many people have: and that’s just the dog.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be a race to the quarterback, like it or not.”<\/p>\n
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n <\/div>\n