Sept. 26, 2008

Michael Parenton is a smaller-than-average offensive lineman (6-2, 292) with over-sized accomplishments. It is hard to imagine anyone getting the big picture as well as he has at Tulane the past five years.

Consider his willingness to play anywhere. Recruited as a center out of Thibodaux (La.) E.D. White High in 2004, he played defensive tackle in his first game, moved back to offensive line a week later and ultimately was redshirted a with a season-ending shoulder injury. He volunteered to play right guard in 2005, and even though he had never played the position in his life, he made the most of the opening by earning Conference USA All-Freshman honors.

In 2006, he started at center, getting a Conference USA honorable mention nod. Last year, he started every game at left guard, with a brief stint at left tackle when starter Troy Kropog was injured. Again, he was a Conference USA honorable mention selection.

This year? He split time between left guard and center in preseason practice, but will line up wherever the team needs him the most.

"I've played pretty much everywhere," Parenton said. "It's kind of weird, but it keeps you on your toes a little bit. It's helped me understand the whole offense and know what every single guy up front is doing. I definitely see it as an advantage."

Moving all over the offensive line is not easy. Each spot brings different technique, footwork and assignments.

"I couldn't imagine another guy who could have handled switching so many positions so many times over the years," said Kropog, a fellow senior who has played exclusively at left tackle since his sophomore season. "Mike's got a great football mind. You really have to be a guy who can roll with the punches. He took it in stride and just competed to be the best he could at each position."

Parenton's acceptance of new challenges comes in part because he never doubted his decision to go to Tulane. He considered scholarship offers from Louisville and Oklahoma State, but his ties to the area were too strong. He grew up in Thibodaux, his mom's hometown. His father is from New Orleans. An uncle is the general manager of Harrah's Casino.

Unless he makes an NFL roster, Parenton expects to live in Louisiana the rest of his life.

"I just saw it as a 40-year decision as opposed to a four-year decision," Parenton said. "I knew that if I was good enough to play on the next level, somebody would find me. It wasn't going to be because I was playing at this place or that place. It's been a blessing to be able to play as much as I have and for my family and friends to be able to come as many games as they have. I am glad it's worked out this way."

Everything about Parenton's Tulane career is big. He has a cheering section of about 50 to 60 friends and relatives for every Tulane home game, a huge number that makes sense when you find out his dad is one of nine children. Throw that side of the family together with his mom's family and his girlfriend's family, and Parenton never feels lonely at the Superdome.

"The core is always there, but a different group comes each time," Parenton said. "You lump all of them together with friends from back home, and it's a big mixture of people. It gives me a warm feeling. You know people are going to be happy and you're going to be supported no matter if you win or lose or what you did."

His durability is huge. He would have started every game the past three years if not for a severe case of food poisoning when Tulane traveled to UTEP in 2006. After eating at a sushi buffet two days before the Green Wave beat Rice a week earlier, he felt bound by superstition to keep the same routine.

This time, he ended up in the hospital and missed the team flight. After being released, he flew out to El Paso on his own, tried to play on the field goal unit as a blocker and realized he was incapacitated.

"I knew I didn't have anything behind me," Parenton said. "The plane ride by myself to El Paso was awful, and the way back was even worse after we lost."

His academic accomplishments are big. Never mind the difficulties balancing football and class work at any Division I school or the Hurricane Katrina-disrupted fall semester of 2005. He will earn a bachelor's degree in accounting next spring, along with a master's degree in finance, and has made the Conference USA academic honor roll four times.

"It's tough, but if you take 15 hours (of classes) every semester, you can get it done," Parenton said. "You just have to stay on top of the books and you've got to manage your time wisely."

His leadership skills are big news. He was president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council in 2007-08, serving as the voice from the players to the Tulane administration. He worked with Habitat for Humanity to build a house right outside the New Orleans Arena (it was then moved to its current location) before a 2007 NCAA men's basketball regional.

That involvement extends to the field. His teammates selected him as a captain entering his senior year.

"Even his freshman year when we first got here, there were guys listening to him and he was just pushing people," Kropog said. "It's been like that for years now. Some people need to be pushed, and he doesn't mind being that guy. He's just a natural leader."

Tulane coach Bob Toledo knew he was inheriting a special player the first time he talked to Parenton after being hired in December of 2006.

"He has a real love and passion for Louisiana, Tulane and our football program," Toledo said. "He's great on and off the field. He's one of those guys that want to be involved. He's going to be very successful in life."

Toledo says Parenton is the strongest player on the team, one way he beat the label of being too small. Most big-time offensive lineman weighs more than 300 pounds in modern college football, and almost all are taller than 6-2.

Parenton views his frame as an advantage.

"Being shorter helps me lower my pad level and get a better center of balance," he said. "That's one of my strong points. I'm really convinced if I was an inch taller and considered of average height, it wouldn't make me a better man."

Rooming with former Tulane running back Matt Forte´ for four years made him a better football player. Long before Forte´ shattered the school record with 2,127 rushing yards last season, the duo pushed each other to get better. Both of them were finance majors, so they were together almost everywhere.

"I helped him out on the school side, and he helped me out on the athletic side," Parenton said. "He was always on me, making sure I'd fulfill his expectations of what I should be doing, lifting weights or whatever. I've benefited so much from his help that I can't thank him enough."

Parenton remembers telling Forte´ he could gain 1,400 yards in the 2007 preseason, and his confidence grew when Forte´ turned the corner for a 39-yard touchdown in the season opener against Mississippi State. Still, he admitted he had no idea Forte´ would run for more than 200 yards in four consecutive games and break the 2,000-yard barrier.

Forte´ is gone, but Parenton is one of four returning starting linemen. He knows outsiders don't expect much from the Tulane running game this year.

"It stings a little bit, but it's also motivation to prove we can be a good enough offensive line to provide some big numbers again," Parenton said. "We gained a lot of confidence last year."

Parenton's plans for his last season are big, too. Although he would not trade his Tulane experience for any other, he wants to make his career complete.

"I'm extremely happy with what I've been able to accomplish, but not satisfied," he said. "There's always something I can work harder for and something better that I could be. I'd like to take this team to a bowl game. I'd like to win a conference championship. I'd like to be looked upon as one of the better offensive linemen in this conference."