Former Houston Cougars football defensive end Derek Parish was selected 240th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The seventh-round pick marks the third UH football player taken in this year’s draft. The Houston Texans took receiver Nathaniel “Tank” Dell in the third round, and quarterback Clayton Tune was taken in the fifth round by the Arizona Cardinals.
Parish played in just four games for the Cougars in 2022 after tearing his bicep against Rice in late September. In the four games the Pearland native did play in, he had a cast on his right hand after breaking his finger during a practice prior to UH’s week one game against UTSA.
The defensive end recorded five sacks for the season, 4.5 of which came against Texas Tech in week two. Parish also had 8.5 tackles for loss for UH. While he did not get a chance to showcase it much with the Cougars, Parish is also capable of playing full back on offense.
“I would want that human being on my team,” Holgorsen said about Parish at UH’s pro day in March. “I would want that locker room presence. I would want that work ethic. I would want that teammate aspect of Derek Parish. The hardworking aspect of Derek Parish. The practice player of Derek Parish.”