He was part of the same incoming freshman class at the University of Miami with Sean Taylor, so naturally when Roscoe Parrish got that terrible call Tuesday morning he was devastated.
"It was a shock," said Parrish. "It was sad news to hear something like that. Me and Sean Taylor came in together and I kind of knew him in high school because we went to the Florida State campus together going into our senior year. So I got to know Sean real good, and for something like that to happen it just hits you."
Upon getting the initial phone call from a friend in Miami that Taylor had been shot, Parrish did not know what to do. He was in disbelief.
"I couldn't really believe what I was hearing," said Parrish. "I was praying hoping everything was going to be alright. Then I got the phone call at three in the morning Tuesday and couldn't believe it. It was sad all the way across the board."
Parrish had kept in touch with Taylor periodically and would bump into him at times down at the Miami campus where many of their alumni in the NFL congregate for offseason workouts.
"Sean was just a hard working guy. He played every play like it was his last and that's how he was throughout his career," said Parrish. "He always showed up on Saturday at the University of Miami and on Sunday in the NFL. Sean was a guy the coaches would never have to fuss with because he would get his job done."
What saddens Parrish and several of his other former teammates all the more is that Taylor was trying to live more on the straight and narrow since the birth of his child.
"He was making changes because you never saw him out at the clubs," said Parrish. "He was always a laid back guy. Ever since he had his baby he was a changed person. He kept away from people and trouble after that happened."
Parrish was visibly upset early in the week when he first got the news, and those emotions resurfaced Thursday when he was asked about wearing the number 21 decal that every player in the league will be wearing on their helmets Sunday in honor of the slain Taylor.
"You've got to represent him," said Parrish as he began to choke up. "It's a sad thing that happened, but you've got to go out there…"
