FRISCO — Micah Parsons enters the final six regular-season weeks of Year 2 of his budding NFL career showing maturity.

The Cowboys’ do-everything linebacker/defensive end couldn’t say that when he entered the NFL draft out of Penn State. He admits an immature label was correct, but don’t place that on him now.

“It’s just a part of growing up,” Parsons, 23, recently told The Dallas Morning News. “You gotta accept every part of the good and the bad. At that point of my life I was that dumb a–hole out of Harrisburg that just didn’t know how to accept my future.”

Parsons’ game has blossomed to the point that he’s nearly an unstoppable force at times. He was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and in 2022 he’s second in the NFL with 12 sacks. Parsons is one of the leading candidates for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

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And it’s not so much the splash plays that he makes; it’s the little things. In the Thanksgiving Day victory over the New York Giants, Parsons’ main assignment wasn’t to simply line up all over the field. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn used Parsons to line up against left tackle Andrew Thomas, a 2020 first-round pick.

Parsons recorded two sacks. His acceptance of whatever role the Cowboys assign him is another signal of his maturity.

“Oh, I think he’s growing, I think he’s growing every opportunity,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I get to see Micah every day. But you know, the reality of it is, it’s a second-year player. He’s got a lot of growth in front of him. Any time you talk about individuals, you look at their physical, mental and emotional states and he’s obviously very gifted physically. But he still has room for growth there. He’s only in his second year.”

After his rookie season, Parsons went on a Summer of Micah Tour. He dropped the puck at a hockey game in Hershey, Pa., attended Rangers games, made appearances at numerous celebrity events and in the process worried Quinn.

Quinn’s concern was not so much that Parsons would do something wrong, but he needed to make sure Parsons wasn’t getting caught up in the celebrity status that comes with playing for the Cowboys. Before Parsons went to Hawaii for a vacation, Quinn had lunch with him.

“I was really concerned heading into his second year because of how much success that came his way,” Quinn said. “So my concern for him was just about could his humility stay in place to do the work to get there, because let’s face it, when you’re that young and you’re getting that much attention, that it can go the other way if you don’t really put the work in to get the job done.”

Quinn said any concerns were eased when Parsons came back for the offseason program ready to work.

The immature label developed after a hazing incident while Parsons was at Penn State. Former Penn State player Isaiah Humphries of Sachse alleged he was harassed by four players, including Parsons.

Humphries eventually sued Penn State, head coach James Franklin and one of the players, but not Parsons. A federal judge last September dismissed the lawsuit against Franklin and the school. A lawsuit against former teammate Damion Barber is still pending.

In August, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Penn State’s investigation would remain sealed under a protective order.

Parsons’ involvement in the case was brought up during the draft process, which led to questions about his character from NFL teams and draft experts.

“That’s part of the deal, too, everything nowadays is click bait,” Parsons said. “People want to say, ‘Oh this guy is crazy.’ None of them know the story, none of them know that the case got thrown out four different times and it kept going back, but they don’t look at that. They just look at the headlines.”

Later he added, “That’s why sometimes you really [should] not say nothing at all and just show people. I’m not going to sit here and defend myself to people who are ignorant, lack of knowledge of any situation where you failed to research it.”

Parsons’ maturity isn’t a question now that he’s a pro. He understands why some might have had doubts, considering he was just a college kid playing football and trying to figure out his place in life. Parsons isn’t perfect, but he’s trying to become the best person possible while facing the scrutiny that comes with being on the big stage of the NFL.

“I’m not mad about people misinterpreting me because I was that kid that was up to no good,” Parsons said. “I made my mistakes, so technically you weren’t wrong, but to base that off of my future now that’s where you’re wrong. Whether you hold grudges, I mean if you have kids, you gonna say your kids have been perfect his whole 18 years? You gonna say your kid is the same kid he was when he was 16 now that he’s 23?

“It’s tough to put that scenario on some of these kids. It’s tough. I always look at the draft as a chance to lift Black people, lift kids up and exploit their talents for the good things. But people use that time to diminish and demolish kids, which I never understood. We just don’t wake up and say, ‘Hey I’m going to be in the NFL draft and get drafted.’ You work for that your whole life. So instead of uplifting, we look to bring people down and tarnish them which I will never understand. That’s why I always say I’m always going to show love. I just want to bring people up; I don’t want to tarnish nobody’s name or bring nobody down.”

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