Feeding the hot hand: Wayshawn Parker emerging as go-to offensive weapon for Utes

SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah wide receiver Ricky Johnson ran to his left on a jet sweep, running back Wayshawn Parker, who was in the Wildcat, received the snap and faked the handoff to Johnson.

With a little pause, Parker took off to his right as freshman offensive lineman Kelvin Obot served as a leading blocker, sealing off the route to a Kansas defender who over pursued and was already behind. With only green grass ahead, Parker turned on the jets and went untouched to the end zone for a 90-yard rushing touchdown.

Rice-Eccles Stadium erupted in celebration as its star running back raised his hands and faced the MUSS in what served as a statement to a 17-point win over Kansas, extending Utah's unbeaten streak in Morgan Scalley's first season as head coach.

"I give props to all the O-line and the rhinos and the tight ends, because they're the ones that made that happen," Parker said of the touchdown run. "I mean, all I did was use my speed. They're the one that scored a hole, so I appreciate them first and foremost."

Parker has been doing a lot for Utah, though.

The junior back, who just missed on rushing for 1,000 yards last season, has been a standout player for Utah this season and has already amassed 499 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, while adding 190 receiving yards and four touchdowns in an all-around showcase of his talent.

His last two games he's rushed for over 170 yards and multiple touchdowns to serve as a proven weapon for offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven to utilize in an offensive system that features a multitude of players who have an impact on its makeup.

But Parker has been one of the biggest catalysts to Utah's dynamic offense, and one of the best assets to set up everybody else on the offensive side of the ball. As Parker becomes more of a threat, the rest of the offense has a higher likelihood of success as it limits the team's chances of being one dimensional.

"I mean, we're dangerous," Parker said. "We've been saying that before the season even started. So all I gotta say is that if we keep the main thing the main thing, and our focus on each other and not everybody else, like keep it our culture, we'll be very dangerous. No matter how much point we put up, if we stay as a team and then put that culture on that field, it's gonna play out how it play out."

So when Parker only had three touches in a lull of a second quarter against Kansas, many were confused as to why one of the best offensive weapons on the team was limited.

Scalley said it wasn't fully an intentional decision to limit Parker's touches, but more of a balancing act to get other playmakers involved in the offense and to eliminate predictability. The bigger problem was Utah didn't execute cleanly in the quarter and allowed Kansas to quickly build momentum.

"The distribution and the ability to get different people the ball makes you unpredictable," Scalley said. "I think if it's Wayshawn, Wayshawn, Wayshawn, it's easy for people to load the box and say, OK. The other thing is the hits that running backs take over and over and over again. It is a car crash every tackle for the most part, and so just making sure player load wise, you're doing everything you can to keep him healthy.

"Yes, does he want the ball? You bet; any competitor does, but it's also what's best for the team, and he understands that, too."

To that point, McGiven has done well to spread the ball around to his playmakers to keep the defenses guessing. Whether it's creative alignments or focusing on other players, Utah attempts to put pressure on defenses who don't know where the ball is coming on any given play. For example, one alignment could have 20 different variations.

"I think we're doing a really good job of distributing the ball," Scalley said. "He is so valuable in so many ways beyond what you see on TV because if he's blocking downfield, you're probably not going to see that; but we see it, and that's why the NFL scouts love him right now."

It's not just NFL scouts who are loving Parker and what he does for the Utah offense, though. Parker ranks No. 1 among all FBS running backs in Pro Football Focus (93.1 run grade) and Pro Football Network (95.0 impact).

Simply put: When Parker's involved in the offense, good things generally happen for Utah — and opposing defenses have to account for that, especially if Parker is lined up in the backfield with Devon Dampier, Byrd Ficklin or several other highly-efficient players capable of spreading the field in the run game.

"It's not the end of the season, so I feel like I haven't accomplished anything yet," Parker said. "I've still got everybody that depends on me; that's still going on for the rest of the season. So right now that joy feels good, but tomorrow it's work day."

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