Donald Parham Jr.

BIOGRAPHY

Donald Parham Jr. was born on August 16, 1997, in Lakeland, Florida. He is a tight end in the National Football League.

Parham played college football at Stetson University and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

During high school, Parham played football for just one season, recording 13 receptions for 234 yards and four touchdowns as a receiver while also playing defensive end. He was rated as a top 10 receiver by Big County Preps. Parham was lettered in basketball, an honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. He carried a weighted GPA for 4.3.

He saw action in four games during the 2015 season, Parham played in the games Webber International, Ave Maria, Davidson and at Mercer.

As a sophomore in 2016, Parham saw action in all 11 games, six as a starter at tight end. He was the no-doubt MVP of the spring game in April with 10 receptions, he got off to a strong start with five receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown against Sacred Heart (9/3), followed up with four receptions for 42 yards and another score in the win over Warner (9/10), with that TD reception coming from six yards. Parham set what would have been a school record with eight receptions against Davidson (10/1), had it not been for the nine catches by Kegan Moore in the same game, the performance still ranks as the second-most in a game for the Hatters. He had three catches for 29 yards and a touchdown in the win over Brown (10/8) with the scoring pass from nine yards coming in the fourth quarter to secure the victory, Parham led the team with five receptions against Campbell (10/22) for 66 yards, scoring one touchdown on a 14-yard pass and setting up another, he had six receptions for a career-high 109 yards in the loss to Marist (11/5), including a seven-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter to draw the Hatters to within three points, he had just two receptions against Drake (11/19) in the season finale, but one went for a score, he finished the year second on the team, behind Moore, with 37 receptions. Parham was also second with 455 receiving yards, he led the squad with six TD receptions.

During the 2017 season as a junior, Parham saw action in 10 of 11 games and started in nine of them, he led Stetson in receptions with 58 and receiving yards with 817. Parham averaged 5.8 receptions per game which were tied for second-most in the PFL, he had 11 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown in the season finale at Jacksonville (11/11), nine catches for 157 yards against Campbell (9/23), caught eight passes for 121 yards against Davidson (10/14), had nine receptions for 98 yards at Morehead State (10/21) and five catches for 97 yards against San Diego (10/28). Parham was named an All PFL Honorable Mention and named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll.

As a senior in 2018, he earned Consensus All-American, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, STATS FCS, American Football Coaches Association, Phil Steele and Hero Sports. He was also named to the FCS Athletic Director’s Association All-Star team, to the Walter Payton Award watch list for FCS Player of the Year and the team All-PFL selection. Parham saw action in nine games, eight as a starter at tight end, he missed the game at San Diego as the result of a concussion suffered in the win over Marist. He was named PFL Offensive Player of the week for his performance against Waldorf in the second game of the season, he had five receptions for 165 yards and three touchdowns in that game, had a program-record of 14 receptions against Jacksonville, was selected team offensive player of the week for his efforts against Waldorf, Jacksonville and Valparaiso. Parham closed out his record-shattering career with 12 receptions for a school-record 257 yards in the win over Valpo, recorded five of the top nine games in program history in terms of receiving yards, scored at least one touchdown in eight consecutive games to close his career, surpassed 100 yards receiving in seven of nine games, including the last six straight, finished his career as Stetson’s all-time leader in receptions (180), receiving yards (2,591), receiving touchdowns (20) and all-purpose yards (2,591) , finished the season as the top receiver in Division I football (FCS and FBS) in both receptions per game (9.4) and receiving yards per game (146.6). He was selected to participate in both the NFLPA Bowl and the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Parham took part in Senior Bowl week practices but missed the game with an ankle injury.

On May 10, 2019, Parham signed with the Detroit Lions after going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was waived on May 12, 2019. He signed with the Washington Redskins on June 7, 2019, after a minicamp tryout. Parham signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.