Willie Parker

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Willie Parker
Personal Info
Date of Birth November 11, 1980
Place of Birth Clinton, North Carolina
Height 5'-10"
Weight 209 pounds
Player Information
Position Running Back
Number 39
College North Carolina
Awards
Pro Bowls
0
NFL Draft
Undrafted Free Agent
Teams Played For
2004-Present Pittsburgh Steelers

Willie Everette Parker born (November 11, 1980 in Clinton, North Carolina) is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His excellent speed has gained him the nickname, "Fast Willie."

High school years

Willie Parker attended Clinton High School in Clinton, North Carolina and was a letterman in football. He was a two-time All-Conference and a two-time All-Region honoree. As a junior, he rushed for 1329 yards and 20 touchdowns and helped lead his team to the state 2A title. As a senior, he rushed for 1801 yards and 18 touchdowns and was also named the County Player of the Year.

College career

He attended the University of North Carolina, where he only played sparingly (181 yards on 48 carries in his senior year). On his combine he ran a 4.4 on the 40 yard dash.

NFL career

2004–05

Parker was signed as an undrafted free agent with the Steelers in 2004, largely as a favor from the Rooney family. While at UNC, Parker displayed great speed but little vision, resulting in inconsistent play which led to him being benched in favor of Ronnie McGill during his senior year. He spent the 2004 NFL season as a backup player behind Jerome Bettis, Duce Staley and Verron Haynes. During the 2004 season he had his most impressive game on week 17 in Buffalo. Duce Staley started the game and played most of the first quarter; Parker took the rest of the game. Parker ran for 102 yards in the remaining 3 quarters, including a very long sprint that setup a game controlling drive. This win at Buffalo cemented the #1 seed for the Steelers that year. It has been considered that it was this game that got head coach Bill Cowher's attention. He would put Parker in for much of the 2005 Preseason games.

In his second year, he earned the starting job after Bettis and Staley missed the first part of the season with injuries. By default he had to play the first game against the Tennessee Titans. He gained 161 rushing yards in 22 attempts, an average of 7.3 yards per carry. With a 45 yard streak, and a 48 yard screen play, he was getting major attention from Coach Cowher. After following up this performance with another 100+ yard game against the Texans, Cowher said "He's here to stay." He finished with 255 carries for 1,202 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also finished the season with 218 yards receiving and one touchdown.

Super Bowl XL

Parker scored a 75-yard touchdown in Super Bowl XL, the longest rushing play in Super Bowl history. That honor was previously held by Marcus Allen in the Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins.

Alan Faneca pulled and made the block that sprung him for the TD. Parker finished the game with 93 yards on 10 carries and an average of 9.3 yards a carry.

2006—

In 2006, Parker signed a major contract with the Steelers, solidifying his future role on the team. Coach Cowher was quoted as saying that Parker would be a workhorse and receive the goal-line carries in his role as the starter, making him the bonafide #1 running-back in Pittsburgh.

External links

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