As Kyle Parker continues his college football career at Ohio State, he hopes to bring the same positive energy and passion for the game that his former teammate Kyren Lacy brought to the wide receiver room at LSU.
Parker, who played at LSU from 2023-25 before transferring to Ohio State this offseason, says Lacy was like a big brother to him during their two years playing together for the Tigers. Lacy “always was the light” of the wide receiver room at LSU, Parker said, and Parker fondly remembers the times they spent together both on and off the field.
“Every time we were in practice or something, we were always dancing. When we were outside of practice, we might be making a TikTok, tripping out or something like that,” Parker recalled.
Lacy died by suicide in April 2025, just two days before he was scheduled to go before a grand jury for a fatal car crash in December 2024. Louisiana State Police charged Lacy with negligent homicide, accusing him of causing the crash by passing multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed in a no-passing zone, resulting in a head-on collision between two other cars that caused the death of Herman Hall, a 78-year-old Vietnam War veteran. Lacy’s attorney, Matt Ory, has maintained his client’s innocence, telling a Louisiana TV station in October that Lacy was more than 70 yards behind the collision at the time of impact.
Parker is still grieving Lacy’s death, and says he’ll “forever think about” his former teammate. But he believes the best way to carry Lacy’s legacy forward is to make the same positive impact at Ohio State that Lacy made on him.
“He would always turn everybody up around us, so me coming here, that's exactly what I'm trying to do,” Parker said. “Bring light to everybody around here, and light up the receiver room.”
Three months after transferring to Ohio State, Parker is already making his presence felt both on and off the field. Parker, who spoke with Eleven Warriors while making an appearance at the Versiti blood drive at Ohio Stadium, was one of the first two (along with Florida State safety transfer Earl Little Jr.) of more than 50 new players at Ohio State to lose his black stripe this spring, “officially” becoming a Buckeye after just five spring practices.
Parker said “it meant a lot” to be one of the first Buckeyes to lose his black stripe this spring.
“My whole goal coming here is just to come in and put in all the work I can. And that's what I've always been a part of, just me myself, trying to make sure I do everything right. And just showing out,” Parker said. “I love making plays. That's what I came here for is to make plays. So me getting out there and making plays in practice, it lets me get my black stripe off, it’s a blessing.”
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 28, 2026
Zone 6 adds a Fast & Physical Baller to the room. Welcome, @realkp4_ pic.twitter.com/SohsEE4MH8
As impressive as Parker has been in his first spring as a Buckeye, he faces stiff competition for a starting job in Ohio State’s receiving corps. With Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss back as returning starters, Parker is competing for just one starting spot with fellow offseason transfer Devin McCuin, who lost his own black stripe after a standout performance at Ohio State’s Student Appreciation Day; fast-rising freshman Brock Boyd, who lost his black stripe just one practice after Parker; and five-star freshman Chris Henry Jr., whose goal “should be” to start right away, according to Ryan Day.
That said, Parker wanted to go somewhere that he’d be challenged. Having already played at one school that calls itself “Wide Receiver U,” Parker couldn’t pass up the chance to play at the school that’s been WRU for the past half-decade, with Carnell Tate set to be Ohio State’s sixth first-round NFL draft pick in five years later this month.
“I mean, Ohio State is Ohio State,” Parker said. “I was at LSU, which they call Receiver U also. And then Ohio State is the other Receiver U that's always arguing. So when I got presented the opportunity, I'm like, why not go to another school that breeds at my position?”
Parker – who said he considers his current school and former school “1A” and “1B” in the Wide Receiver U debate – also chose to be a Buckeye because his former position coach at LSU, Cortez Hankton, is now the wide receivers coach at Ohio State.
“When I first went to LSU, we built a good bond. And then when he ultimately got the job at Ohio State, I was in the transfer portal,” Parker said. “So it was a no-brainer for me, honestly.”
Parker, who caught 31 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns at LSU last season, understands he might not get as many touches at Ohio State this season as he might have by transferring elsewhere. But the redshirt junior is hungry to take advantage of every opportunity he gets and prove himself as a playmaker for the Buckeyes.
“Really, I'm just trying to come out here and make as many plays as I can,” Parker said. “It's one football to go around and a lot of mouths to feed, so any time I get the opportunity and have the ball in my hands, I'm going to make a play with it. Try and score a lot of touchdowns and just ultimately win a championship here. That's one of my big goals.”
“Any time I get the opportunity and have the ball in my hands, I'm going to make a play with it.”– Kyle Parker on his role in Ohio State’s offense
It certainly helps Parker’s chances of playing a significant role in the receiver rotation this season that he’s already spent three years playing for Hankton, who’s happy to have the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Texas native with him in Columbus.
“KP brings a mindset of physicality,” Hankton said. “Really tough with the football, high football IQ, very versatile.”
Hankton, too, had Lacy and his relationship with Parker on his mind when Parker lost his black stripe on March 28.
“To see KP, who was like a brother to Kyren, taking that black stripe off, man, it was really just fun and heartwarming to watch,” said Hankton, who coached Lacy for three years at LSU. “Because I know that dude would be smiling for him. I can see them dancing in the corner and celebrating.”
Parker said he knew Lacy would have been proud of him in that moment.
“I just know that me getting that black stripe off, Kyren would have been excited for me. And seeing him right now, if he was in the NFL, I'd be excited for him. So it was a great moment, just thinking of Kyren,” Parker said.
