Parker Elmore, left, guards former Jennings County teammate Keegan Manowitz during the All-Area All-Star boys game March 27, 2023 at Columbus Christian. Elmore plans to play his final two years of football and basketball at Columbus North.
The Republic file photo
Parker Elmore, who dazzled in two sports as a freshman at Jennings County before sitting out most of his sophomore year with an ACL injury, is headed to Columbus North.
Elmore confirmed Wednesday night that he has enrolled at North and that he is moving to Columbus. He plans to resume his football and basketball careers with the Bull Dogs.
“It was really about the opportunity,” Elmore said. “Columbus North plays 6A football, and Jennings only plays 4A, so it’s really more of an opportunity to play in bigger games and get seen more by college coaches and stuff like that.”
Elmore took over as the Panthers starting quarterback midway through his freshman year and led them to an upset win against Floyd Central and a win against Jeffersonville. He then was the sixth man on a basketball team that won the school’s first sectional title since 2005 and its first regional championship since 1998.
Looking to build on the football success from his freshman season, Elmore and Jennings put up 101 points in winning its first two games of last season. But then he tore an ACL in a loss at New Albany and was lost for the season.
Elmore had seen his older sister Alivia, a basketball standout for the Panthers who is headed to play at Brescia, go through an ACL injury and subsequent setback and did not want to rush back for basketball season.
“It’s rough,” Parker said. “Seeing your guys out there competing and knowing you could help them out, it really takes a toll on you. But you just have to take time. It’s not worth taking another eight months out of my life to redo what I’ve already done.”
Parker took football visits to Wisconsin, Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan the past year. A few other Big Ten schools have shown interest on the 6-foot-5 dual threat quarterback, who also plays defensive back.
“I’ve been talking to Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State, but I have not received any official offers yet,” he said.
Parker said he officially was released to begin full workouts two or three weeks ago. Since then, he has been playing with his travel basketball team out of Grand Park in tournaments in Wichita, Kansas, and Memphis, Tennessee, on the Puma Circuit. He started with Grand Park his seventh grade year and now plays on its top 16-year-old team.
High school basketball teams are permitted to practice and play in games and tournaments during the month of June, and Parker plans to be with the Bull Dogs during that time. He also plans to take part in football workouts this summer.
Parker, whose father Cole played on Jennings’ 1998 basketball team that reached the semistate, knows it will be tough leaving the school system he attended for the past 10 years.
“It’s always going to be tough,” Elmore said. “I have friends here, but the more I think about it, the more I’m like, ‘People are still going to be here when I get out of high school, so if they do take it to heart, it’s only two years, and then we’re all off to college. Those people are still going to be there after high school, so it doesn’t hurt a lot to leave because I know I’m doing it for myself and more opportunity to get to where I want to be.”
