[2] Parks played at the college level for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 1961–1963.

[3] While at Texas Tech, Parks set several school records and earned many accolades.

Following his final season in 1963, Parks became the first player in Texas Tech history to be named an Associated Press All-American,[4] and also earned selections from Sporting News, Time, Boston Recorder-American, Sports Extra, the American Football Coaches Association, and Football Weekly.

He was named to the inaugural class of the Texas Tech Ring of Honor, which honors the players by engraving their names into a ring around Jones AT&T Stadium, and has been the only Red Raider selected as the 1st overall pick of the NFL Draft.

[6] Parks was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, joining fellow Red Raiders Donny Anderson, Hub Bechtol, E. J. Holub, and Gabriel Rivera.

After playing his option year with the 49ers in 1967, Parks signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 1968.

In the second of only four times the NFL exercised the Rozelle rule, the 49ers received Kevin Hardy and a 1969 first-round selection (7th overall–Ted Kwalick) as compensation.