KU’s Andrew Parchment, Pooka Williams Jr. named preseason all-Big 12

By Matt Tait     Jul 16, 2020

Chris Evans
(Boston, MA, 09/13/19) Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Andrew Parchment (4) celebrates a touchdown against the Boston College Eagles during the first half of an NCAA football game at Boston College in Boston, Mass., on Friday, September 13, 2019.

Kansas football senior Andrew Parchment and junior Pooka Williams Jr. were two of the 15 players named to the Big 12 Conference’s preseason all-Big 12 offense, league officials announced Thursday.

The Jayhawks were one of five Big 12 programs to put multiple players on the preseason all-conference offensive team. Baylor, TCU and West Virginia did not have any.

The teams, which included 15 players on offense and 15 on defense, were voted on by media members who cover the conference.

Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard was named the preseason offensive player of the year and West Virginia defensive lineman Darius Stills was named the preseason defensive player of the year.

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, a redshirt freshman from Phoenix, was projected as the conference’s newcomer of the year.

Nick Krug
Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr. (1) gets snagged around the ankles by Kansas State defensive tackle Jordan Mittie (91) during the third quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 at Memorial Stadium. At right is Kansas State linebacker Da'Quan Patton (5).

The preseason honor is the second in a row for Williams, a dynamic junior from Louisiana who has delivered back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the Jayhawks.

As a sophomore in 2019, Williams ran for 1,061 yards and two touchdowns on 203 carries. He also added 214 yards on 27 receptions, giving him 115.9 all-purpose yards per game on the season.

Those numbers earned Williams a spot on the Associated Press and Big 12 all-conference teams. Williams also was named to the all-Big 12 first team following his freshman season, when he was named AP offensive freshman of the year and AP newcomer of the year.

Parchment is making his first appearance on the all-conference preseason team after earning honorable mention all-Big 12 honors and honorable mention offensive newcomer of the year in 2019.

Earlier in the day, the senior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also was named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best receiver in college football.

Parchment’s 65 receptions last season, in an up-tempo, high-octane Kansas offense under new offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon, led the team and were the seventh most by a KU wideout in a single season in program history.

His 831 yards are the second most among returning Big 12 receivers, and Parchment also ranked second on the 2019 Jayhawks with seven touchdowns. He finished fourth in the Big 12 last season in receptions per game (5.4) and receiving yards per game (69.3).

2020 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team

Offensive Player of the Year: Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State, RB

Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Stills, West Virginia, DL

Newcomer of the Year: Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma, QB

Offense

QB – Sam Ehlinger, Texas

RB – Pooka Williams Jr., Kansas

RB – Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State

FB – Nick Lenners, Kansas State

WR – Andrew Parchment, Kansas

WR – Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State

WR – Charleston Rambo, Oklahoma

TE – Charlie Kolar, Iowa State

OL – Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma

OL – Adrian Ealy, Oklahoma

OL – Samuel Cosmi, Texas

OL – Jack Anderson, Texas Tech

OL – Teven Jenkins, Oklahoma State

PK – Gabe Brkic, Oklahoma

KR/PR – Joshua Youngblood, Kansas State

Defense

DL – Wyatt Hubert, Kansas State

DL – JaQuan Bailey, Iowa State

DL – Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma

DL – Eli Howard, Texas Tech

DL – Darius Stills, West Virginia

LB – Terrel Bernard, Baylor

LB – Garrett Wallow, TCU

LB – Joseph Ossai, Texas

DB – Greg Eisworth, Iowa State

DB – Kolby Harvell-Peel, Oklahoma State

DB – Trevon Moehrig, TCU

DB – D’Shawn Jamison, Texas

DB – Caden Sterns, Texas

P – Austin McNamara, Texas Tech

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.