His first catch as a sophmore was for a touchdown. When that season (1967) ended, Parks had caught79 passes for 1294 yards and 12 TDs. Injured much of his senior year, Parks finished with 169 career catches for 2919 yards and 22 TDs. After sitting out one season, Parks played five years in the NFL (San Diego, Dallas, Houston). He led the NFL in receiving in 10 games (41 catches) as a rookie in 1971 before being sidelined with a broken arm.