| Willie Parker |
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2002: Played in 11 games and started two Started the season-opener against Miami (Ohio) and at Virginia Finished second on the team with 70 carries for 236 yards and one touchdown Also caught 12 passes for 104 yards Had his most productive day of the season in Carolinas win at Syracuse with 79 yards rushing on 13 carries Averaged 6.1 yards per carry in the game Had a 50-yard touchdown run to end the first quarter as the Tar Heels took a 10-0 lead vs. SU Led the Tar Heels with 43 yards rushing on 13 attempts against NC State Also had one reception for five yards Had a season-high 15 carries for 36 yards and five receptions for 43 yards at Virginia Had six rushes for 26 yards against Florida State Had four carries for five yards against Maryland Gained 12 yards on four carries in the loss to Wake Forest Gained 12 yards on five carries against Arizona State Gained 15 yards on two carriers in the loss to the Longhorns Carried the ball three times for four yards against Miami (Ohio).
2001 Sophomore Season
Started the first three games of the season and played in nine games Was second on the team in rushing with 400 yards on 83 carries and had three touchdowns Caught two passes for 26 yards Had his best game of the season against Auburn in the Peach Bowl, rushing for 131 yards on 19 carries and scoring one touchdown His 10-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave Carolina a 7-0 lead Also caught three passes for 24 yards against Auburn Began the year as UNCs starting tailback, but was replaced in the starting lineup against Florida State Did not play against Florida State, NC State or Georgia Tech, but was effective in the latter part of the season Had a 102-yard outing at Maryland in the second game of the season Scored on UNCs first play from scrimmage against the Terps on a 77-yard run Had 66 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown vs. Duke Was outstanding against SMU, with 82 yards on 13 carries (6.3 yards per attempt) and a 2-yard touchdown run In the last two regular-season games against Duke and SMU, he totaled 148 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
2000 Freshman Season
Had a roller-coaster season, but came on strong at the end of the year Earned the starting job after spring practice, but injured his back in fall workouts and was not completely healthy until the Virginia game, eight games into the season Played in nine games and started the last three contests, at Pittsburgh, vs. Maryland and at Duke Was second on the team in rushing with 84 carries for 355 yards, an average of 4.2 yards per carry Had four touchdowns Averaged over five yards per carry in the last four games of the season Despite the back injury, he played in the season-opening win over Tulsa and had 10 carries for 17 yards and two touchdowns Scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards Had just 14 carries combined in the next two games vs. Wake Forest and Florida State, and did not play against NC State and Clemson Came back against Virginia with a strong effort, rushing for 71 yards on 17 carries Made his first career start the following week at Pittsburgh and responded with 61 yards rushing and 54 yards receiving Was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for that performance He scored one touchdown on an 8-yard trick-play, dubbed the rooskie, and set up another UNC touchdown with several big plays On UNCs season-long 98-yard touchdown drive at Pitt, he had a run for 25 yards and caught passes of 34 and 11 yards Had his best rushing game the next week vs. Maryland Carried the ball 21 times for 158 yards, the most yards rushing for a UNC freshman since Natrone Means had 256 yards vs. Duke in 1990 He was also UNCs first 100-yard rusher since Anthony Saunders had 110 yards rushing in 1999 vs. Georgia Tech, a span of 15 games The 158 yards rushing were the fifth-highest total by a Carolina tailback vs. Maryland Earned much of that yardage on two runs 37- and 61-yard efforts in the first half The 61-yard run was the longest by a UNC player since Leon Johnsons 67-yard run against Clemson in 1996.
Clinton High School
Rushed for 1,801 yards and 18 touchdowns in leading Clinton to the state 2-A quarterfinals Averaged 12.3 yards per carry. Had 30 tackles, including two and one-half quarterback sacks, and intercepted two passes County player of the year In 1997, he rushed for 1,329 yards (11.8 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns in leading the Dark Horses to the state 2-A title Rushed for 138 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown, in the 1997 state title game Earned all-conference and all-region honors as a junior and senior Led Coach Bob Lewiss team to a 26-2 record over his last two years Honors student.
Personal
Born Willie Everette Parker on Nov. 11, 1980 in Clinton, N.C. Has one older sister and two older brothers His older brother, Derrick Crumpler, plays basketball at Mount Olive College and his cousin Leonard Henry played at ECU Likes to play basketball Nickname is Chill-Will Wears No. 15 because its the same number he has always had in football Would like to switch places for a day with his father, Willie Parker Sr. Favorite former UNC player is Natrone Means Majoring in exercise and sports science.
