A prep quarterback takes marketing to next level to get USF's (and others) attention

While browsing through the site formerly known as Twitter, a specific tweet screamed for attention, even more than the usual screaming on that platform.

A young man named Gabriel Q. Parker was wearing a USF shirt, holding a football, and it headlined: “I’ll come to the Bay and stay in the Bay!”

“I was born to be a USF Bull! With a 4.06 GPA & Grandparent Waiver I’m also eligible for other funding sources; I want to come home Coach Golesh!” he said. To make sure the intended recipient noticed it, the tweet was a reply to one from USF football coach Alex Golesh.

Young Mr. Parker is a quarterback at Williamsport High in Maryland. According to Max Preps, he threw for 2,431 yards and 23 touchdowns last season as a junior. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 214 pounds and unabashedly claims he is, “One of the top passers in Maryland HSFB (public or private).”

He also says he has a 4.0 GPA.

Born to be a USF Bull, great grades, nice quarterback numbers. It’s a gift from the football gods for the class of 2026, right?

Maybe.

I don’t know what he’ll major in when he enrolls in college, but I suggest he should consider marketing. That’s because, being a curious sort, I scrolled through his feed and saw that he made basically the same pitch to multiple other schools. The norm is for teams to recruit players, but this player is recruiting the teams

There were earnest tweets to Prairie View, Pittsburgh, Western Illinois, Columbia, Old Dominion, Johnson C. Smith, Morehouse, and FAMU. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were many more, but, honestly, I got tired of checking. He had made his point.

I think it’s very clever of this young man to put himself out there like this. He doesn’t seem to lack for confidence,  which is something you have to have to play quarterback in college football.

His high school team was competitive, finishing the season 7-4.

It’s not unusual for high school players to market themselves, but usually they do that by submitting information and highlight reels to various scouting websites. However, I haven’t seen someone take this approach, and for his sake I hope he lands someplace he can be successful.

Who knows, that might be USF. You can't have too many quarterbacks.

And by the way, the “grandparent waiver” he referenced is a thing. Out-of-state undergrads who have a grandparent residing in Florida for more than one year.

According to USF, the waiver will reduce a qualifying student's tuition and fees for out-of-state costs to match the in-state tuition rate for up to 110% of their total degree hours, or 132 credit hours.

OK, then. We now know something else about this young man: He does his homework.