The Nebraska football program has gone through plenty of turmoil over the last decade. One former Husker, Josh Banderas, says that not only did that turmoil cost the school several coaches, but it also cost the Huskers the chance to have famed defender Micah Parsons wear the scarlet and cream.
During a recent appearance on the WIRED Access podcast, Banderas divulged that no one in the public knew it. Still, Parsons was a silent commit to NU. The former Nebraska linebacker said this isn't his guess either. Parsons told him he was committed to the Huskers until Mike Riley fired defensive coordinator Mark Banker for his final season in Lincoln.
"I got confirmation from him, Banderas said on the podcast. "We had Mike. Micah Parsons was coming here. He was silently committed to Trent Bray and Mark Banker. Like, nobody knows that."
A coaching change.
— WIRED Axcess (@WiredAxcess) February 14, 2026
A recruiting ripple effect.
And maybe… Nebraska lost @MicahhParsons11 because of it.
Former #NEBPreps #Homegrown Husker @bandothemando breaks down how one shift changed the trajectory.
Had Micah been a Husker. different future? Full https://t.co/bKaSsPWq6f pic.twitter.com/tnIK8LT6JE
Josh Banderas explains why Micah Parsons backed off his quiet pledge to Nebraska football
"We could have had Micah Parsons. We had this good thing. Like, we had a bunch of good recruits going ... and then, you know, politics and backroom stuff— or whatever it is— like they ended up making the change to Diaco. You know, it obviously went downhill from there."
It's thought that Diaco was forced on Riley because the Cornhuskers' defense struggled under Banker. Unfortunately, the change made the defense even worse, NU finished 4-8, and Riley was fired at the end of the season. Banderas, who played under Banker and Diaco, clearly liked the defensive coordinator who was dismissed. So did Parsons. It wasn't well known that he'd committed to Nebraska, but he was publicly very interested.
Instead, Parsons went to Penn State, where he logged 192 tackles and 19 sacks in just two seasons. He then went to the NFL as he was the No. 12 pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft. The apparent former Nebraska football commit has dominated in the NFL, never posting fewer than 12 sacks in any campaign over five years with the Cowboys and Green Bay Packers
.