Darius Parish said he carries a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale at Wichita (Kan.) North High School.

He obviously wants to maintain that level in college, and thinks Nebraska might be the best place to do it.

NU’s emphasis on academics ranks high on the list of reasons why the 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle on Wednesday announced his verbal commitment to join the Huskers’ 2008 scholarship recruiting class.

“They want you to succeed academically, and they help you a lot,” said Parish, who becomes the 19th player known to have pledged to Nebraska’s class of 2008.

Parish also received scholarship offers from Kansas and Colorado State. He visited the NU campus in June and hasn’t ruled out taking additional visits to other campuses before national letter of intent signing date in February.

Parish played both sides of the ball last season as Wichita North finished with a 1-8 record. His team’s struggles and a recent coaching change at his school may help explain why he generally has flown under the national recruiting radar to this point.

He received a two-star rating out of five from Scout.com, mostly because videotape of Parish has been hard to come by. That also helps explain why he hasn’t received a star rating from Rivals.com.

Wichita native Ted Gilmore, Nebraska recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach, played a lead role in Parish’s recruitment.

“He’s willing to help me be successful in areas other than football,” Parish said.

Briefly

Running back Jonas Gray of Detroit will announce his college decision at 9 a.m. Friday at his high school, he said Wednesday. Rated by Rivals.com as the top prospect in Michigan, Gray has narrowed his list to Nebraska, Florida, Louisville, Michigan and Michigan State.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.