Brad Livingstone found out how competitive his youngest son was on a trip to Lake Jacksonville in East Texas.

Parker, the youngest of three athletic boys, was livid after losing a whiffle ball game to his older brothers and some of their friends.

Next thing Brad knew, Parker was storming past him and towards one his older brother, Bradley’s, turtle collection that he brought from their home in the Dallas-area to release into the lake. When Brad and his wife, Jen, found Parker, he was emptying the aquarium, prepared to steal his brother’s moment. 

“He’s never liked losing,” Brad laughed.

So, it came as no surprise to the Livingstone clan when Parker wasn’t celebrating a breakout performance in a loss to Ohio State in Week 1. The redshirt freshman caught two passes for 47 yards and the Horns’ lone touchdown. Brad, Jen, and both of Parker’s brothers were in The Shoe to watch his first start. Not many people can say that their first ever college start was in front of 107,000 against the defending national champion. And to score a touchdown? A dream come true. 

Yet, all Parker saw was a missed opportunity. 

“We were nervous even though we didn’t have to do anything but cheer,” Brad said. “But the very first thing he said when he saw us after the game was, ‘I should’ve caught the 4th-and-3.’”

Long before Livingstone won a starting job in a crowded wide receiver room on the Forty Acres, he moved to Lucas Lovejoy and faced a similar situation. Omari Murdoch, now at Air Force, was about to be a senior. Kyler Parker, who committed to LSU, and Jaxson Lavender, who signed with SMU, were soon-to-be juniors. A hot shot incoming freshman named Daylon McCutchen was also in the mix. 

Jayson Lavender, now the offensive coordinator at powerhouse Duncanville, was the play-caller at Lovejoy when Livingstone moved in with his older brother, Jack. Livingstone’s 6-foot-4 frame immediately caught his eye as the two approached him in the locker room on their first visit to campus. But it was when the young sophomore started running routes and catching passes in summer workouts that Lavender knew Lovejoy lucked into a potential star. 

“For him to stand out amongst that group, it was a precursor to what’s happening now at Texas,” Lavender said about Livingstone. “Any time you’re 6-4, 210 pounds and can run a 21.8 200-meters, you have something special. The first time he was on campus and caught a football, I knew we had something special. It didn’t take long.” 

Livingstone, who played varsity football at Richardson Pearce as a freshman, started at inside receiver for Lovejoy as a sophomore and ended the year with 43 catches for 966 yards and 16 touchdowns. He caught 52 balls for 908 yards and 12 more scores as a junior. Livingstone was poised for an All-State senior season and was sure to emerge as one of the top pass catchers in Texas high school football and a prospect who was a sure-fire four-star prospect. Maybe even a five-star. 

The 2023 season began with a historic performance that reinforced those beliefs. Livingstone caught 12 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 1 win over College Station. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown and threw one to McCutcheon in the second quarter of the 50-37 victory. But in Week 2 against Argyle, Livingstone injured his foot against Argyle.

Out of the spotlight and without big numbers as a senior, Livingstone slipped down recruiting rankings. He was a three-star and the 106th ranked wide receiver in the country in the 2024 cycle, per 247Sports. He was the 18th-highest ranked signee in Texas’ class that year and of the four wide receivers that the Horns signed, he was the lowest ranked. That fueled Livingstone as he recovered from the injury. Still does. 

“I just came in and worked, kind of worked under the radar. I wasn’t the highest recruit. A lot of people doubted me. So, I’m just happy to be here,” Livingstone said to the media this week in Austin. “There’s been a lot of doubters along the way. I’m not trying to prove them wrong. I’m trying to prove myself right.”

The foot injury wasn’t the worst thing that happened to Livingstone as a senior in high school. Neither was the disrespect by the recruiting services. The loss of his grandfather, John Penman Livingstone II, was hard on the young receiver. His middle name is also Penman. That lake house in Jacksonville where he tried to sabotage his brother’s turtle release? His grandpa’s. 

“I miss him every day,” Livingstone said of his grandpa. “He was a huge part of my life. He sent me a text before every game and after game. So, when he passed away my senior year, I’d never felt anything like that before, missing someone that close. Every chance I get to make a big play, I try to do it for him.” 

Livingstone is already making big plays. He caught six passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the home win over San Jose State in Week 2. He was clocked at 20.3 miles per hour on one of those touchdown catches, which was the seventh-fastest time measured over the second week of college football action. Of the five touchdown passes thrown by Arch Manning this season, three went to Livingstone. He’s the only Texas wide receiver with a touchdown catch in 2025, the other two went to tight end Zack Endries. 

That may come as a surprise to the viewing public and the pundits. But not to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. 

“I’ve been saying it all along, I just don’t know if you guys believed me,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve been saying it since spring ball – Parker Livingstone is a really good player. He played good all spring. He played good all training camp. He’s played good for two weeks. Like, the guy is a good football player.” 

Maybe everyone else will believe in now. Though, it sounds like Livingstone likes it more when we don’t.