
Parker Livingstone ‘can’t wait’ to join Texas Longhorns
LUCAS, Texas (BVM) — The Texas Longhorns are ranked No. 3 in the nation, their highest ranking since appearing in the 2009 BCS national title game, and they have talented wide receivers in Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell at their disposal. Texas will be adding another talented receiver in Parker Livingstone, who is a four-star recruit at Lovejoy High School and has over 35 D-I football scholarship offers.
Livingstone’s prep career began at JJ Pearce High School where he got his first reps at the varsity level and caught 16 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns, according to MaxPreps and his freshman season helped solidify his love for football.
“I started playing when I was a little kid,” Livingstone said. “I remember playing flag football and tackle football with the older kids. When I got to high school, I got put on varsity as a freshman. That’s really when I fell in love with the game … You learn a lot every season from upperclassmen and now that I’m a senior, I get to teach the younger guys.”
Livingstone received his first D-I scholarship offer following his freshman season and as he prepared for his sophomore year, he transferred to Lovejoy High School and more offers came his way following the move.
“First off, it was a blessing and I’m grateful, humble and give all praise to God to be in that position,” Livingstone said. “It was a great feeling to be wanted by all these programs. But towards the end, when I was ready to make my decision, it was getting a little overwhelming.”
Livingstone received offers from Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and others, but on July 1, he decided to stay in the Lone Star State and commit to the Longhorns.
#COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/mGOieA7KmT
— Parker Livingstone (@ParkerL06) July 1, 2023
“It’s very close to home,” Livingstone said. “Their outside receivers right now are unbelievable in Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, but I guess they don’t have the size Sark (Steve Sarkisian, Texas’ head football coach) needs to run his offense and every time I go there that’s the main thing they tell me, is that they need a tall receiver out there to complete their offense … I can’t wait to be part of it.”
Livingstone will be playing for arguably the most iconic team in college football, but he will also have the chance to learn from the Longhorns wide receiver coach, Chris Jackson who spent 10 years in the NFL (five years as a player and five as a coach).
“He knows what an NFL receiver looks like,” Livingstone said. “He had to evaluate receivers and I think that’s a great part about him. At Texas, he is going to keep it 100 with me and tell me if I’m looking like a receiver who can play in the NFL or if I’m not and that’s a plus because my ultimate dream is to play in the NFL.”
While Livingstone dreams of competing at football’s highest level, he has also looked up to many professional wide receivers and tries to model his game after them.
“There’s a lot of great receivers out there, but for me, I’m trying to model my game after someone my size and who plays like me,” Livingstone said. “Like Julio Jones, ‘Megatron’ (Calvin Johnson) or Adam Thielen. Thielen is probably my favorite receiver who I watched growing up and who I wanted to be like.”
Watching on TV is one thing, but applying the knowledge and skills of a wide receiver on the field is a different beast and Brandon Jackson, Lovejoy’s passing game coordinator and wide receiver trainer Margin Hooks have helped Livingstone fine-tune his receiving skills.
4-Star Texas WR commit Parker Livingstone working with Margin Hooks this summer! pic.twitter.com/JGntFoyDR4
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) July 13, 2023
“I’ve learned a lot from my wide receiver coach at school and my receiver trainer outside of school,” Livingstone said. “Both of them have helped me become the receiver I am today.”
Livingstone also received help from his brothers Bradley and Jack Livingstone and his father Brad Livingstone, who played baseball at Stephen F. Austin.
“My oldest brother was a walk-on at McNeese State and my second brother, Jack, was at Texas Tech and they’ve all been recruited and they’ve seen the process and all three helped me out tremendously,” Parker said.
Parker carried everyone’s advice into his senior season and was aiming to build upon an impressive junior campaign that saw him haul in 52 catches for 908 yards and 12 TDs while playing alongside Kyle Parker, Jaxson Lavender and Daylan McCutcheon.
He was off to a great start following an outstanding Week 1 performance where he accumulated 252 receiving yards, a 99-yard kickoff return and four receiving TDs. However, Parker suffered a partially torn ligament in his foot and will miss most of the season.
MIND-BLOWING single-game Performance 🤯 @ParkerL06
Lovejoy High School WR Parker Livingstone went CRAZY in the opening game of the Season. His Stats were 4 Receiving TDs, 1 Passing TD, 99-Yard Kick Return & 252 Yards@leopardfootball @Coach_Lavender @Horns247 @TexasRecruiting pic.twitter.com/XT3XD5E7si
— Quarterback Plug (@QuarterbackPlug) August 31, 2023
Whatever Parker Livingstone is rated, it is too low.
Incredible evening for the Texas commit. pic.twitter.com/JttVDPkAuQ
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 27, 2023
“Looking at 6-8 weeks, but no surgery which is positive,” Parker said. “I’m just trying to become a better teammate, a better player mentally and getting in the weight room and making sure my upper body is good when I come back. It was tough, but I got to take a positive out of this. It happened for a reason.”
This injury is new to Parker, but he’s seen his teammates overcome adversity before and is looking up to current teammate, Sam Reynolds, who beat cancer this year for inspiration.
Could not have finished this fight without the grace of God!!! Thank you to all the doctors, nurses and prayers that helped me through this journey! #CancerSurvivor
COMEBACK HAS STARTED!!!
Can’t wait to be back on the field and 3-peat in wrestling this year!!! pic.twitter.com/GvOrs0gXRg— Sam Reynolds (@Sam_Reynolds61) September 8, 2023
“Getting the news [last] winter, it was hard for everybody and everyone was trying to be there for him,” Parker said. “He was a big part of our team and he’s a great football player and a great wrestler and to have him back when he feels like he’s 100% is going to be huge for our team and will only make us better.”
Parker’s football journey has been filled with ups and downs and he’s working to make sure his return to the gridiron is special, but he will continue to love the game because he knows playing football is shaping him into the person he wants to be in the future.
“It means everything,” Parker said. “The relationships that I’ve built around me, the life lessons I’ve learned, the adversity I’ve gone through, there are countless more things I could say, but everything I’ve learned through this game has made me into the man I can be when I’m out in the real world … Life’s not going to be fair and this teaches me how to handle it and be the best possible human I can be.”
The Last Dance pic.twitter.com/fLdINRhUif
— Parker Livingstone (@ParkerL06) August 28, 2023