Kai Parham attended Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he was a four-year starter and a three-time all-region and all-district performer on the football team. As a junior, Kai totaled 140 tackles, 20 sacks, and 6 interceptions. He followed that up with another outstanding year as a senior, finishing with 152 tackles, 19 sacks, 6 fumble recoveries, and 5 interceptions, on his way to first team all-state honors. He was also named Virginia Gatorade player of the year for his performance. He was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl but he was forced to miss the game due to injury. He was considered to be one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation and he accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Virginia, where he sat out the 2002 season as a redshirt. He received nine starts the following year, finishing with 89 tackles and 1 sack on the season. He finished his sophomore season second on the team in tackles with 80 stops on the year. He also had 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles on the season. His junior season was Parham’s best season in college. He had career highs in tackles (103), sacks (9), and forced fumbles (2), on his way to first team all-ACC honors. Kai has another year of eligibility left due to his redshirt season in 2002; however, he decided to skip his senior season to enter the 2006 NFL draft.

Kai Parham has a good deal of experience, having started the past three seasons for the Virginia Cavaliers. He is a great leader who has prototypical size for a middle linebacker in the NFL. He does a good job of reading and reacting to what the offense is doing. He really came on as a pass-rusher this past season with 9 sacks on the year. He is a great run defender and an extremely hard hitter who excels at making tackles in the open field. Kai isn’t the greatest athlete. He lacks great speed, doesn’t change direction well, and can be a liability in coverage. Kai is one of the better prospects in a fairly weak class of true middle linebackers. He should be selected in the second or third round of the 2006 NFL draft.