Steve Young had to do it. Tom Brady had to do it. And now Kai Parham's doing it. What did all three of these people have to do? They had to step out of somebody's shadow because of injury and produce for the team. Young and Brady eventually led their teams to Super Bowl victories. Parham hopes to lead the Cavaliers to a national championship.
With junior linebacker Ahmad Brooks, the anchor of the Cavalier defense, sitting out the first two games of the season with a knee injury, Cavalier fans wondered who would emerge and become the playmaker Brooks has been for the past three years. Thus far, fellow middle linebacker Parham has done the job and then some.
A five-star recruit out of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Parham would normally be the jewel of any recruiting class. However, it was Brooks -- the No. 6 overall prospect in the nation -- who received most of the attention from that stellar 2002 recruiting class. Starters since their red-shirt freshmen years, Brooks and Parham have been staples in Groh's 3-4 defenses, combining over the years to form one of the nation's best linebacking corps. Despite their collective accomplishments, Brooks is the person people across the nation know about. But with Brooks out the first two games, Parham is finally getting the attention many feel he has deserved for two years.
Parham's performance in the 27-24 win at Syracuse displayed his skills. With Brooks sidelined, he had eight tackles, including six solo, three tackles for loss and three sacks. His three sacks, in particular, came in crucial times of the game. Two of the three sacks occurred on third down, one of the sacks ended any chance of Syracuse scoring a touchdown at the end of the half, and one of the sacks placed Syracuse out of field goal range. His outstanding play earned Parham ACC defensive player of the week honors.
He "ran the defense very well, really stepped up," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He played like a big time linebacker today -- that's two games in a row for him."
It does not matter to Parham whether he or Brooks garners more attention from the media.
"Kai's not worried about being in the shadow or the spotlight," outside linebacker Mark Miller said. "What we're seeing now is all deserved for Kai Parham. College football, just college in general, is a growing experience. Kai has matured a lot, I've matured a lot -- we're all more comfortable as we get older in knowing how to handle things."
Because of their common faith, Miller and Parham are very close on and off the field. Despite their shared faith, however, Miller jokingly said Parham has little mercy for opponents.
"If he's coming at [opposing quarterbacks], they're probably not going to be in the favor of the Lord," Miller said.
Even with the new accolades, Parham is still a team-first player with winning as his primary goal.
"I'll take a 27-24 win any day," Parham said after Virginia's victory at Syracuse. "A win is a win."
With Brooks' status for the Homecoming game against Duke Sept. 24 still up in the air, Parham will have to continue casting his own shadow if the Cavaliers are to continue their winning ways.
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