Missing rushing goal 'set that fire' under Wayshawn Parker, and now he's out to prove it

SALT LAKE CITY — As the final minutes of the Las Vegas Bowl ticked away, newly-named head coach Morgan Scalley called several running plays for his star running back to help him eclipse his rushing goal for the season.

With a 22-point victory already in hand, there was no need for Wayshawn Parker to be on the field. But going into Utah's final drive of the bowl game, Parker was just 25 yards short of the 1,000-yard mark on the season.

Parker quickly picked up 7 yards on first down but was held to just 1 yard on second down. Taking a direct snap on third down, Parker was, again, held to just 1 yard and was just short of a first down. His last attempt — a fourth-and-1 play-call at Utah's 35-yard line — resulted in the talented back being sacked for 3 yards.

No first down. No goal achieved. End of season.

It total, Parker ended 19 yards short of his mark, finishing with 981 rushing yards, six touchdowns and averaging 6.6 yards per carry on a season in which Utah broke an all-time rushing record (3,462 yards) as a team behind its stalwart offensive line.

"He was really hurt last year that we didn't get him to 1,000 yards, and that's a big goal for him this year," Scalley said during Big 12 media days.

It wasn't that he simply fell short of the benchmark — though that certainly pained him — it was that he felt like he let Utah fans down.

"It really hurt me deep down inside that I let myself down," Parker said. "This year, I want to go all gas, no brakes. So anybody that I can take with me, I'm going to take with me on that journey; that's going to be the whole Utah football team, so we're going to do it as a team."

Missing the mark "set that fire" under Parker, and he's approached the offseason with a different outlook and drive. To him, though, not much has changed; it's more of just "a mindset thing for me that changed."

"It's just a whole other level that I need to step up and step my game up to," Parker said. "If I want to accomplish my dream, I've got to have that mindset of I've got to be better than last year; and this year, I feel like I'm gonna be better."

Parker will be doing it, though, behind a new offensive line and with a new offensive coordinator calling the shots. There's no guarantee the junior tailback can have the same type of success.

But don't doubt him, either.

Those around him have seen a big difference in how he's approached the upcoming season — not just as a leader within his position group as the bell cow back, but as a leader on the team.

And it all starts with the "work ethic" he's brought to the team going into his junior season.

"He understands that now he's in a position where if you want to have influence on others, you've got to be living the culture, you've got to own your 20 square feet, and that's what he's doing," Scalley said. "When your best players are jumping in there, and in spring ball, in a live session, and they're not afraid of competition, they're not afraid to throw it in there. That's what was fun to see from Wayshawn.

"It's almost like you had to tone him down a little bit — 'Hey, dude, sit this one out; relax a little bit.'"

Growing within the system has done that for Parker, though. With added time and reps, confidence and maturation within the program has grown, and Parker has been one of the biggest recipients of that growth mindset as he enters his third season in college and second at Utah.

Part of that maturation process has been Parker turning from his own goals to focusing more on his team — namely the well-being of the quarterback he lines up next to in the backfield.

Though eclipsing 1,000 yards remains a major goal, he knows that he can't get there on his own. And going into Year 3, a big focus is making sure Devon Dampier remains healthy.

"My passion for Year 3 is to go out there and make sure he (Dampier) is perfectly fine," Parker said. "He got injured last year; don't want to see that again. I want to see him go to the next level, and I'm going to do whatever it takes for him to get to that next level — that is my QB, and I'm going to sit there and protect him, no matter what.

"I don't have a problem sitting there blocking somebody, making sure (Dampier) gets the ball off to the receivers to let the team have a successful night. That's all that matters to me, is that the team wins at the end of the night and I know I did my job the best I can."

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