Derek Parish

Derek Parish (born January 4, 1999) is an American professional football defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Houston.

Early years
Parish was born on January 4, 1999, and grew up in Pearland, Texas. He attended Pearland High School and played football while also running track. Despite being named first-team all-district after posting 12.0 sacks in 2016, Parish was not highly recruited, not even placing on Rivals.com's and ESPN's rankings and being a three-star prospect. He committed to play college football for the Houston Cougars.

College career
As a true freshman at Houston in 2017, Parish redshirted. Although recruited as a linebacker, his position was quickly changed to defensive end. He appeared in all 13 games the following year, totaling 21 tackles. He played 12 games in 2019, starting four while posting 38 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 2.0 sacks. In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, Parish played in all eight games, five of which he started, and tallied 25 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, and 3.5 sacks, the latter two statistics ranking third on the team. Against South Florida that year, he returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown.

In 2021, Parish started all 14 games and was named second-team All-American Athletic Conference (AAC) after recording 56 tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks. At the start of 2022, he underwent hip surgery and later surgery for a broken bone on his hand, the latter requiring him to play with a club on his hand. He was named team captain and in the second game of the 2022 season, against Texas Tech, Parish set the AAC record with 4½ sacks, additionally posting 6.5 tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble, afterwards being named the national defensive player of the week. However, he then suffered a season-ending torn bicep injury in the fourth game of the year. He had posted 20 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 8.5 tackles-for-loss through that point of the season, ranking third-best nationally in the latter two. Parish was able to return in time to play in the East–West Shrine Bowl, at which he changed his position from defensive end to fullback.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Parish was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round (240th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He was waived on August 29, 2023 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on October 16.

Toronto Argonauts
On January 22, 2024, it was announced that Parish had signed with the Toronto Argonauts as a defensive lineman.

Personal life
Parish won an eating competition between his Cougars teammates by eating 7 lbs. (3.175 kg) of steak in one sitting.