Henry Parrish, Miami’s leading rusher the past few seasons, has entered the Portal. In 2022, Parrish made third-team All ACC with 617 yards, 4.7 yards per carry and 4 TDs. Behind an improved OL in 2023, his efficiency jumped up to 6.3 yards per carry while improving his yardage (625 yards) and TDS (6). I spoke on Parrish and Miami’s next steps on the CanesInSight Daily Podcast.
On Parrish’s next destination: My strong suspicion is that he's going to be transferring right back to where he transferred from, the Ole Miss Rebels. Kevin Smith, the coach that recruited him to Ole Miss, came to Miami, brought him here. Kevin Smith's back at Ole Miss. I suspect he will take Henry Parrish back there. Was there tampering involved? I don't know. Let people fill in the blanks on that one.
On Parrish the player: Tough loss, in my opinion, for the Canes. This is somebody who wasn't the most spectacular player, but I think he was underrated. Led the ACC in yards per carry (min. rushes - 100) with 6.3 yards. So he was very efficient as a runner. Now, that 6.3 yards per carry didn't involve 60 yard touchdowns and game-breaking plays. Just a lot of eight, 10 yard runs and and very few losses because he was so slippery. Was he a franchise back? Was he Clinton Portis or anything like that? No, but he's a very useful back. That's why Ole Miss, which is a top 10 team, is taking him back happily.
On Miami’s next steps: This is not unexpected for the Canes. You heard me on the podcast yesterday saying Miami is going to be aggressive in pursuing help in the portal or running back. Didn't want to let the cat out of the bag with this one just in case Parrish changed his mind, but most people knew he was out. Miami is going to aggressively pursue a running back in the portal. I expect them to aim high and look for an impact-type player.
Miami wanted Parrish back, but they see the same thing as everybody else. We need to get to a certain standard at running back that is elite. Parrish is a good player. Anyone would have loved to have him. Ole Miss is lucky to have him. But the hope is we can get to that elite standard at running back to match what we have on the offensive line. I expect Miami to aim high at the running back position, just like they aimed high at the quarterback position.
