Man of many nicknames
October 20, 2008
A fellow reporter and I had a nice conversation with freshman quarterback Dantavious Parker. I’ll be writing a story on him this week, but I’m not sure when. Most teammates don’t know his real name, they just call him Dan.
Obviously, you know now they are getting him involved in the offense, mostly on running plays and as a change of pace guy for starter Levi Brown.
Wideout Jerrel Jernigan and other teammates started calling him “Lieutenant Dan” from the movie Forrest Gump. They actually pronounce it in a redneck way, too, stretching out the
“LUUTENNANT DANNNN”So it might be good to pen that nickname for him. Stay tuned. I need to find marketing/promitions guru Eric Williamson to play the clip if he scores a touchdown.
“When I got here, it was Dan, Dan, Dan,“ Parker said. “I was thinking, ‘I don’t guess anybody knows my real name.‘“
“I think I’ve got the Guinness Book of World Records for nicknames.“
At home, he gets Dan, DP, Dantavious (which he prefers in the press). Teammate Levi Brown calls him Daniel to make him mad. Defensive ends coach Randy Butler calls him Daniel when he was directing the scout team offense.
“I correct him and he says, ‘You still Daniel,‘“ Parker said (way to put a freshman in his place).
What does his mother think?
“She was saying when she watched (the FIU game on TV) back home that they couldn’t even say your name, they were just saying the running quarterback.
But you’re not just a running quarterback, right?
“I’m a quarterback. Whatever it takes to win a game.“
