PINEVILLE – With the connections Louisiana College coach Dennis Dunn has in the Shreveport area, it seems strange that any talented player could slip past his detection.
However, that's exactly what wide receiver D'Mario Parker (Shreveport, La./Huntington HS/Northwestern State) did en route to becoming a “self recruit” success story.

“To be honest with you, I didn't really know D'Mario before he came to us,” Dunn admits. “One of his cousins, Ramone Broadway, played for me at Evangel, but I never met D'Mario. I joked with him the other day that, when I was at Evangel, I was always accused of recruiting. If I had been recruiting back in those days, I would have recruited him for sure.”

As it turns out, it would be Louisiana College's neighbor to the north, Northwestern State, that would initially find Parker and secure his services at the collegiate level.

“Northwestern just wasn't the right fit for me,” Parker said. “I ended up deciding that transferring to a different school was the right choice for me, so I left Natchitoches, contacted Coach Dunn and he accepted me with open arms.”

That acceptance was made easier by the fact that Parker's former receivers coach, Lawon Latson, gave Dunn a favorable review of the 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior.

“I'm certainly glad that Lawon recommended him to me,” Dunn said. “D'Mario has been a game changer for us. He's made big plays in every game. He's a big, tall, physical target who can jump. That's a pretty dangerous combination.”

Through four games Parker has hauled in 16 receptions for 266 yards and three touchdowns.

His best single-game performance came two weeks ago when LC defeated Mississippi College 45-42 in a game that went down to the last 30 seconds.

In that contest, Parker caught four passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns, one of them a 23-yard game-winner.

“Coach Dunn and Louisiana College gave me a chance to play and show what I can do, so I took it and ran with it,” Parker said. “It's been great for me so far. I've never played with this many capable receivers and this great of an offense. We've got a great coach, in my opinion, in Coach Dunn and (LC wide receivers coach Clay) Matchett is probably the best motivator I've ever been around. They're both real big into attention to detail and are pushing us all to be the best we can be. We've got a quarterback in Ben McLaughlin who is as good as anybody. He knows the offense top to bottom. And I think we have the best receiving corps in the nation, there's not even a discussion about that. I think all of the coaches we've faced would agree.”

As well as Parker has played, he's actually only the third most productive receiver for the Wildcats behind All-American Jordan Rideaux and fellow transfer Darnell Williams.

However, having so much quality at his position has not hampered Parker's enthusiasm for his new team.

Far from it. He's more motivated than ever to prove his worth among worthy cohorts.

“With the quality we have in our receiving corps, you've got to come to play every day,” Parker said. “Whether it's in practice or on the game field, when the lights come on, you have to perform. That's the way I like it.”

Even though he could likely get more passes thrown his way at another school, Parker said he's content with the LC way.

“I'm in it for the long drive,” Parker said. “I'm not going anywhere. To me, with the offense we run, we're not going pass less than 40 times a game. We have a quarterback who's good enough to attempt 60 or more passes if he needs to. There are plenty of reps to go around. That's what Coach Dunn and Coach Matchett talk to us about all the time. We're one receiving corps. When one of us is out there, we're all out there. Whether we're in four-wide or jumbo package, we're all rooting for each other.”

It's that maturity and selfless approach to the game which is carrying Parker to new levels of success, Dunn said.

“D'Mario is a great young man,” Dunn said. “He's come in and really adapted to the culture of Louisiana College Football. He's been very patient when it comes to his reps and supportive of his teammates. That's what we're looking for. He's earned the respect of his teammates because of the way he's handled himself. Believe me, that is rare, especially with a transfer.”

Parker and the rest of the Wildcats will be on display Saturday evening in Marshall, Texas, when they pay a visit to American Southwest Conference rival East Texas Baptist for what will be that school's Homecoming contest at 6 p.m.

Louisiana College at East Texas Baptist
Kickoff: 6 p.m., Saturday
Location: Ornelas Stadium/Marshall, Texas
Coaches: LC, Dennis Dunn (5th season); ETBU, Mark Sartain (4th season)
Records: LC, 1-3 (1-1 in American Southwest Conference); ETBU, 2-3 (1-2 in American Southwest Conference)
Series Record: ETBU leads 6-4
Last Meeting: LC def. ETBU 42-28 in 2009