2022 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Jovane Parkinson, DB, Midwestern State University

• Name: Jovane Parkinson
• Position: DB
• College: Midwestern State University 
• Height: 6’0
• Weight: 192
• Twitter: @Jovane_Jr
• Instagram: @Jovane_Jr

What makes you a top prospect at your position  in the 2022 NFL Draft? 

• My football IQ and the plays I make speak for themselves. 

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

• I was about nine years old when a childhood friend of mine introduced me to the sport and I’ve been stuck on it since. 

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

• I’m a dedicated and eager player that will compete with anyone. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

• Sickle Cell disease research and helping to bring awareness to the world. My little brother suffered from the disease and it complicated his life in many ways. Sickle Cell is something not many people truly have any knowledge of, so I feel that me donating to the cause can help change that. 

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

• The best advice I’ve ever received was to simply keep going. Whenever you’re going through trials and tribulations, keep going. Whenever you feel like your on top of the world and you made it in life, keep going. Keep working hard, matter fact kick it up a notch. Just because you might have had a taste of success doesn’t mean you should be satisfied or just because times are tough at the moment doesn’t mean you just give up, just keep going. 

Who was your childhood hero? 

• I have 3 older cousins that I always looked up to since I was young, Julio, Jason, and Pat. They were guys that showed me how to be a man and taught me how to handle my business. They were father figures and big brothers at the same time. 

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school? 

• WR Anthony Tennison, AKA Showtime, he’s a technician. You put the ball in his hands and he’s always going to sell out and make a play. I don’t think he gets the respect or the recognition he earned and deserves. 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

• My biggest pet peeve is being purposely ignored. 

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

• The hardest thing I’ve dealt with so far would be losing my little brother, I felt like I failed him and my family even though there was nothing that I could of done to change what happened. Since the day we buried him I’ve had a chip on my shoulder and an unsatisfiable hunger for success. 

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

• I’ve seen my school at highs and at lows, we have been going through a rebuilding process in recent years. Going into my senior season my mindset and my team’s mindset is to regain the glory we previously had and some. 

What is your favorite snack food? 

• Right now my favorite snack is honey buns, I have to eat a couple at a time and they never disappoint. 

What is the best part of football? 

• The best part of football for me would be the competitive nature of the game. Whether it’s in practice and I’m competing against my brothers to get better or in a game when I’m trying to dominate the person in front of me. Getting to compete with every rep that’s what drives me. 

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say? 

• I’ve had 6 different DB coaches, I can adapt and excel in any situation, I simply just need a chance. 

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be? 

• I would say a faster Joe Haden, we’re about the same size and I definitely see similarities in my style of play and techniques with his. 

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

• The three people would be my grandmother, my cousin Jason, and my little brother Brandon. My reasoning for those three would be because those are people close to me that I lost unexpectedly. Being able to sit down with them for a dinner one last time to simply enjoy the moment would mean everything to me.