Giants' Micah McFadden knows all about Cowboys' Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons of the Cowboys celebrates after a sack during the second half against the Washington Football Team at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 26, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Getty Images/Wesley Hitt
Growing up in Tampa, Florida, Micah McFadden met or heard about only a handful of people who shared his first name. “Just passing by or noticing each others’ name tag or something like that,” he said of the coincidences.
Once he got to college at Indiana, though, it became a much more common occurrence to hear his name used by someone else. That’s because he wasn’t the only freshman linebacker in the Big Ten to have it. Over at Penn State Micah Parsons was starting to open some eyes as a dynamic defensive player who would one day be making stops on NFL fields.
It was McFadden’s friend from high school Judge Culpepper — the son of former NFL defensive lineman Brad Culpepper — who also played at Penn State and first brought the name to McFadden’s attention.
The two Micahs played each other twice in college — Parsons and Penn State won both times — before Parsons opted out of the 2020 season because of the pandemic, entered the 2021 NFL Draft and became the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.
McFadden’s entrance to the pros hasn’t been quite as spectacular. He was a fifth-round pick by the Giants in April after playing all four seasons at Indiana.
Nor is McFadden’s game as glitzy as Parsons’. McFadden is more of a traditional run-stuffing inside linebacker while Parsons moves all over the field to showcase his athleticism and grace.
“He’s a utility guy who can do anything for them,” McFadden said.
But McFadden has been playing well for the Giants this summer and with fellow rookie linebacker Darrian Beavers out for the season with a torn ACL he’s likely to see plenty of playing time on defense.
McFadden said he kept tabs on Parsons’ impressive rookie season while finishing up his college career.
“I definitely was watching his game play,” McFadden said. “I kept up with ‘Hard Knocks’ when they were on that last year. He’s definitely a fun guy to watch.”
And now, two years removed from spending two years in the same college conference, the two linebackers are in the same division in the NFL. McFadden and the Giants will face Parsons and the Cowboys twice this season, the first time in Week 3 on a Monday night.
It probably won’t be billed as Micah vs. Micah by many, but it will give McFadden another chance to cross paths with someone who doesn’t just share his name but shares his position and profession as well.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
