Ken Parrish (born June 22, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

punter. He was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

East Stroudsburg East Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state. Originally known as "Dansbury", East Stroudsburg was renamed for geographic reasons when the Delaware, Lackawanna, and ...

. Parrish has also been a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, Florida Tuskers,

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Early years

Parrish attended

East Stroudsburg High School South East Stroudsburg Senior High School South is a public high school located at 279 North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The school's mascot is the cavalier. The school is part of the East Stroudsburg Area Scho ...

in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where he played soccer for three years before joining the football team as a punter during his senior year. There, he earned All- Mountain Valley Conference and Pocono Record All-Area honors. He decided to join the football team after the schools' previous punter, Joseph Gaeta, who later played football at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, became injured. Gaeta is credited with helping to convince Parrish to make the switch from soccer to football. He only had to punt three balls for the school's football coach before he was given the punting job for the rest of the season.

College career

After high school, Parrish attended East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania where he averaged 40.3 yards per punt and landed 59 of his 174 punts inside the 20-yard line during his college career. In his junior and senior year, he earned All-

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

eastern division honors after averaging 42.5 yards per punt, with 30 of his 75 punts landing inside the 20 and just four touchbacks during that span. As a senior, he punted 42 times in 14 games to help ESU win the Division II Northeast Regional championship and advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in school history. As a senior, he averaged 42.0 yards per punt. As a junior, he averaged 43.2 yards per punt. As a sophomore, he averaged 40.7 yards per punt. As a freshman, he averaged 36.7 yards per punt. Parrish graduated East Stroudsburg with a degree in criminal justice.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Parrish was

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the 2007 NFL Draft, and was signed by the

on May 3, 2007. He spent that training camp and pre-season with the 49ers before being released prior to the start of the regular season.

First stint with Eagles

Parrish signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on May 28, 2009. He was waived on August 8 after the team signed

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

Rob Myers Rob Myers (born April 9, 1986) is a former American football tight end. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Utah State. Myers has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, New ...

New York Jets

Parrish signed with the

as a

on August 16, 2009, after the team waived punter

T. J. Conley Timothy Joseph “T. J.” Conley Jr. (born August 29, 1985) is an American football punter who currently is a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2009. He played college football at Idaho. Professional ...

. Parrish was waived on August 28 when the team claimed punter

Glenn Pakulak Glenn Adam Pakulak, Jr. (born April 9, 1980) is a former American football Punter (American football), punter. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Kentucky Wildcats football, Ken ...

off waivers.

Second stint with Eagles

Parrish was re-signed to a three-year contract by the

on April 28, 2010. He was waived on August 15.

Florida Tuskers

Parrish was signed by the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League on September 9, 2010.

Atlanta Falcons

Parrish was signed by the

on March 3, 2011, but was released on August 24.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Parrish was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on June 13, 2013, and later released on August 25.

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

In 2016, Parrish tried out and made the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of American Indoor Football.

Personal life

After getting released by the 49ers in 2007, Parrish spent eight months as a police officer with the Stroud Area Regional Police in his hometown, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. After the eight months, he decided that he would pursue a comeback into the NFL by leaving the police force. When asked about his decision to leave the police force, Parrish said, "It was a decision that took weeks and weeks and weeks and lots of discussions with my family. I always had great backing from my family. They

aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

'Ken, if you feel this is something you need to go out and conquer, then go ahead and do it.'" Parrish moved to

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, to perfect his punting, kickoffs, placekicks, and holding for placekicks in order to get ready for his comeback into the NFL. After he was released by the Jets following training camp, Parrish worked as a substitute teacher at J. T. Lambert Intermediate School and as a police officer again with the Stroud Area Regional Police. Parrish spent time during the 2010 offseason in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, to work with Louie Aguiar on his punting and kicking. Parrish resides in Pennsylvania with his wife Amanda and their two young daughters, Reese and Charlotte.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioFlorida Tuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parrish, Ken 1984 births Living people People from East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American football punters East Stroudsburg Warriors football players San Francisco 49ers players Philadelphia Eagles players New York Jets players Florida Tuskers players Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Jaguars players Lehigh Valley Steelhawks players