College football recruiting is never short on surprises and bizarre stories on the recruiting trail. Naming a new dog after a college mascot is mildly amusing when it happens, but when one of the top players in the nation does it, it stands to reason it will be magnified just a little bit more.
When five-star defensive end Micah Parsons shared an image of his new dog and announced his name is Brutus, Ohio State fans likely rejoiced in unison.
https://twitter.com/Micah_parsons23/status/842737755646038016
Brutus, of course, happens to be the nickname of Ohio State’s mascot. Parsons is also a big-time target for Urban Meyer and his coaching staff for the Class of 2018. A highly sought after recruit naming his new dog after your mascot has to be a pleasant sign, right? Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
What makes this development all the more intriguing is Parsons is currently committed to Penn State. He committed to the Nittany Lions on February 27, 2016 but remains a recruiting target for programs like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Florida State and more because nothing is official in recruiting until you sign that National Letter of Intent. Maybe Nittany wasn’t seen as a good name for his dog. Maybe this dog just looks like a Brutus. Or maybe, just maybe, this is a hint of foreshadowing of a recruit flipping his commitment from one school to the other. Parsons has dropped some hints that he could be leaning more toward Ohio State than James Franklin and Penn State fans would like to see.
Imagine how salty buckeye fans would be if he decides to stick w psu & has a puppy named Brutus 😂 https://t.co/DjX8aqouEG
— kel♡ (@kcampp13) March 17, 2017
Could #PuppyScience become the new #HatScience? https://t.co/xrmBYC9Lms
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) March 17, 2017
There is one question that needs to be answered, though. Does Parsons have any other pets?
Shippensburg is gonna be hyped when the find out he's got a hamster named Red Raider https://t.co/KJLIF02J89
— Josh Reed (@4JoshReed) March 17, 2017
Recruiting can be silly at times, and things like this will always be overanalyzed for any sense of logic we can gather from a high schooler who may or may not know what he wants out of his college experience and beyond. But that’s just how things work in football recruiting coverage. But if you think Parsons didn’t think he knew what was going to come out of this photo, I’d venture to say you’re kidding yourself.
https://twitter.com/Micah_parsons23/status/842751065477005312
