Former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons made his HBO debut Tuesday night and earned significant screen time in the channel’s long-running series “Hard Knocks.”

Since the show’s debut in 2001, “Hard Knocks” has followed NFL teams through training camp and provided documentary-style insight to fans on what regular-season preparation looks like. In the show’s 16th season, it follows the Dallas Cowboys.

Parsons first appeared in the episode while talking with his fellow teammates in practice, and it didn’t take long for him to impress them.

“Holy shit. He’s fast,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said while watching Parsons practice.

The cameras continued to follow the first-round draft pick throughout practice as Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn helped him adjust to the NFL pace. It didn’t take long for the Harrisburg native to start reminiscing about his days at Penn State, though.

“At Penn State, they used to have snacks at practice. I loved that,” Parsons said on the field. “The lion is always hungry.”

Later in the episode, Micah’s mother appeared at the Cowboys’ first preseason game to cheer on her son. The team opened its preseason schedule against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2021 NFL Hall of Fame Game.

Parsons was all over the field, registering a team-high three tackles and one fumble recovery. As he was going toward the bench and celebrating with teammates after the turnover, Dan Quinn called Parsons down on the field and reminded him of what they worked on in practice. Quinn then took him out of the game in order to get more players on the field.

Even though he was disappointed after being pulled early, his mother said she couldn’t be happier after Micah’s solid preseason debut.

“I think he’s gonna get rookie of the year at this rate,” she said.

While Parsons played only two seasons as a Nittany Lion, he certainly left his mark on Penn State’s program. The defensive specialist racked up 191 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles as a Nittany Lion.

This was HBO’s first episode of Hard Knocks this season. The show’s release will continue this summer on HBO and HBO Max.