College Career
He attended the University of North Carolina. In his first year he had some success with 355 yards on 84 carries, but was only used sparingly in his last three years due to decisions made by former head Coach John Bunting to restrict Parker's playing time until he "bulked up" to fit within Bunting's attempt at establishing a power running game. In addition, Parker's father has stated that he thought the murder of Parker's best friend from home during Parker's sophomore year made it difficult for him to adapt to the new system at North Carolina.
Parker's experience as a backup in college has since drawn comparison to Hall of Famer Franco Harris, the Steelers all-time leading rusher and Super Bowl IX MVP, who served as a backup to Lydell Mitchell when he played at Penn State. Supposedly, Joe Paterno preferred Mitchell's style over Harris.
Read more about this topic: Willie Parker
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