Kentucky native could play for Toledo as a freshman. ‘It doesn’t surprise me.’
Parker Bisek, a grayshirt freshman who didn’t officially join Toledo until this past spring, is listed as the backup center on the Rockets’ depth chart.
Bisek, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound Union native, was a three-star prospect in the class of 2018 at Ryle High School. Grayshirting — which meant a delay in his enrollment and the start of his eligibility — allowed him an opportunity to improve his conditioning and weight on his own.
Raiders head coach Mike Engler won’t be able to watch his former standout play on Saturday — Boone County’s Board of Education doesn’t permit teams to practice on Labor Day, so his boys will be practicing while the Cats are playing — but he’s eager to go back and see how Bisek performs.
“He’s such a hard worker,” Engler said. “ ... He had to miss half his senior year because of injury and he came back and tried to play through the injury for quite some time and just couldn’t do it. He’s just got that type of character and that type of willpower. It doesn’t surprise me that he’s getting to play so early.”
Engler graduated from UK in 1994. He’s used to watching former players go on to play elsewhere from his time as an assistant at Lexington Catholic; among the more recent notables was Kyle Bolin, who as a redshirt freshman threw for three touchdowns and 381 yards in Louisville’s 44-40 win over UK in 2014.
“No comment,” Engler said with a laugh when asked about which team he’ll be rooting for on Saturday. “I want to see Parker do really well.”
Saturday
Toledo at Kentucky
When: Noon
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Series: First meeting
Line: Kentucky by 12
This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 7:27 AM.
