[1] He attended Southampton High School in nearby Courtland, Virginia,[1] where he played for its football team and received all-state honors in 1989.
[2] He then studied history and communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1994.
[3][4] He played for the North Carolina Tar Heels, joining as a scholarship true freshman and ultimately lettering in all four years.
[2][5] Undrafted in the 1995 NFL draft,[6] Parker signed as a rookie free agent with the San Diego Chargers,[2] but was waived prior to the start of the 1995 season.
[1][6] In the ninth game of the season on October 29, 2000, he made a career-high nine tackles in a 24–19 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.