UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- One of the many cool things that occurred when Penn State's top-ranked wrestling team hosted No. 2 Iowa on Jan. 27 was seeing the two sticks men hanging out together at the Bryce Jordan Center.
That would be current stud No. 11 young linebacker Abdul Carter and former No. 11 stud linebacker Micah Parsons, already an NFL superstar after just two seasons with the Cowboys.
The two sat side by side during the wrestling meet, plus hung out before and after talking some shop and getting to know each other better.
So, what did they talk about?
"We spent some time together just talking about football, talking about life," Carter said. "He just told me just stay hungry. Just find out, like, your why, find that thing to put you over the edge and make you better, to really be great.
"I think that's the most important thing I took away from him."
What was the dynamic like between the two? Was Carter mostly just listening to Parsons, asking questions, picking his brain?
"Both listening and asking questions," Carter said. "Find out what he did, his little tips and tricks, things he did to make him great, how I can do that and try to make myself play great, work great.
"It was a good experience," Carter added. "He's a really good dude. Penn State, we're a brotherhood, so we often talk to each other, ask each other questions, find out things you don't know."
Parsons takes such pride in being a Penn Stater, and even though he's now an NFL star, it's easy to see him staying in touch with folks in Happy Valley and doing whatever he can to help the program, especially the upcoming young linebackers.
In that regard, Carter can perhaps expect to be able to maintain a good relationship with Parsons and continue to learn from him in the coming years.
"I didn't really know about him when I was in high school until Penn State started recruiting me," Carter said. "And I was like, OK, then I knew who he is."
Everybody found out who Carter is and what he's capable of during his impressive freshman season.
He was named second-team all-Big Ten and a true freshman All-American after emerging as the best linebacker or lineman on the team. Carter finished with 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, becoming just the second Penn State freshman to have 6 sacks and 10 TFLs in a season (Deion Barnes the other).
Furtheremore, in the great history of Linebacker U, Carter was just the eighth linebacker to finish with at least 6 sacks and 10 TFLs. That's very impressive company for a freshman.
How good can Carter be?
"The sky's the limit," he said before the Rose Bowl. "I don't even know myself.
"I think I'm just getting started," he added. "There's a lot a lot more to see."
