SALT LAKE CITY — He doesn’t arrive at Utah with the most hype, and certainly not the most stars assigned to his recruiting evaluation, but he very well may have the best name.
Money Parks held his early commitment to Utah football throughout the process, and despite his relatively low recruiting profile, stands as one of the more intriguing incoming players.
Parks, whose given first name is Monterren, arrives at Utah via Aledo High School in Texas, which lies about a half-hour’s drive west of Fort Worth. While there, the 5-foot-11, 172-pound receiver helped lead his team to a state championship with 64 receptions for 1,155 yards, showing off college-level talent throughout.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff noted Parks’ abilities early and secured his commitment despite increasing attention from several Big-12 programs.
So what can be expected from Parks when he arrives at Utah and for the rest of his career?
Ute insider Bryan Brown broke down the speedster’s film while assessing what may come of his career at Utah. Brown played football collegiately at Snow before helping coach at both Cyprus and Olympus high schools. He also works as a contributor to utezone.com and is a producer for 1280theZone radio network.
What are your overall impressions for Money Parks?
“He’s a pretty fascinating player, to me. He’s a top Texas athlete who went against some very good competition in high school. He’s fast, has great hands and he’s a great route-runner. He also does all the little things (Utah receivers coach) Guy Holliday likes in a receiver.
“He’s versatile, but I really like him as a slot receiver at Utah. He’s fast enough and has really, really good feet and gets off the ball really well, and then he runs great routes.” — Bryan Brown, on Money Parks
“He’s versatile, but I really like him as a slot receiver at Utah. He’s fast enough and has really, really good feet and gets off the ball really well, and then he runs great routes. He had four catches in the first half of the Texas state championship game, and three of those were for touchdowns, so he’s a guy who has proven to be very effective.”
“He’s not going to be caught from behind, and there’s not a lot of guys who can stay in front of him. He played very well going against corners who are going to big programs in the state championship, so I feel he’ll prove very productive for Utah.”
What does he need to do in order to contribute as a true freshman?
“He has to buy in and for lack of a better term, needs to become a Utah man and buy into all things coach Holliday expects. You have to do it the Utah way.
“Receiver isn’t a thin group at Utah this year, so he’ll have his work cut out, even though I love his talent and ability. And his versatility will help him, where he could play at different spots, although slot receiver certainly appears to be the best position for him.
“I think he’ll definitely play, but it’s difficult for me to say he’ll play a lot, just based on the talent at the receiver position for this coming year.”
Which former Utah player does he remind you of?
“I’m going to go with David Reed. He’s sort of the same body type and he can run all the routes well, just like David could. He sort of reminds me of Demari Simpkins, but I think he’s more explosive than Demari.
“If you really want to go back, I see similarities between Money and Rocky Henry, who is a guy who played a while ago and then played a bit in the NFL. But yeah, I really like Money Parks a lot and feel he’s one of the more underrated signees Utah had this past year.”