Miami Hurricanes 50-1 Countdown: Ranking the top 50 post-spring players … No. 14 Henry Parrish

No. 50 Miami DT Thomas Gore … No. 49 Malik Curtis … No. 48 Kaleb Spencer … No. 47 Ahmad Moten … No. 46 Jaden Harris … No. 45 Logan Sagapolu … No. 44 Markeith Williams … No. 43 Frank Ladson … No. 42 Chris Graves … No. 41 Keontra Smith … No. 40 Robby Washington … No. 39 Emory Williams … No. 38 Jacurri Brown … No. 37 Brashard Smith … No. 36 Terry Roberts … No. 35 Samson Okunlola … No. 34 Dylan Joyce … No. 33 Jared Harrison-Hunte … No. 32 Jaleel Skinner … No. 31 Corey Flagg … No. 30 Ray Ray Joseph … No. 29 Don Chaney … No. 28 Anez Cooper … No. 27 Branson Deen … No. 26 Zion Nelson … No. 25 Isaiah Horton … No. 24 Rueben Bain … No. 23 Daryl Porter, Jr. … No. 22 Te’Cory Couch … No. 21 Davonte Brown … No. 20 Andy Borregales … No. 19 Nyjalik Kelly … No. 18 Jahfari Harvey … No. 17 Francis Mauigoa … No. 16 Jacolby George … No. 15 Cam McCormick

CaneSport is breaking down the top 50 post-spring players on the roster, a list that doesn’t include any post-spring roster additions. Today we break down No. 14, Henry Parrish.

NO. 14 MIAMI RB HENRY PARRISH

Why he’s No. 14

Parrish isn’t the most explosive back you’ll find, and he isn’t going to wow you with his speed. But he does a little bit of everything at an above average level, which makes him valuable to the team. He’s also the only back that isn’t listed as a freshman on the roster, and he is a returning starter although he didn’t put up big numbers last season. His background: After serving in a backup role for two seasons at Mississippi (including 553 rush yards and three TDs in Year 2), Parrish returned to his hometown last year via the transfer portal. With TreVonte’ Citizen and Don Chaney injured it was Parrish that won the starting job, and he ended the season with 616 rush yards (4.7 yards per carry) and four TDs. He added 17 catches for 120 yards and two more scores. So it wasn’t by any means a “wow,” but he ran hard and was hampered by an offensive line that didn’t open many holes. His Pro Football Focus grades? Parrish graded out at an excellent 80.6 percent overall last year in 374 reps (84.9 as a runner). He’s not going to power past you as a smaller back, but he has good enough quickness and speed to make plays.

What he needs to do to move up this list

Parrish is a versatile back, but there are probably more purely talented backs on the roster with the ball in their hands. Miami brought in Ajay Allen out of the transfer portal in the second window, and he was expected to have a sizable role at Nebraska this season before departing. There’s also a pair of really talented true freshmen in Mark Fletcher (a bigger, more powerful back) and Christopher Johnson (smaller back with top end track speed). Plus Don Chaney is a solid power/speed option as well, although it was Parrish ahead of Chaney in the spring (TreVonte’ Citizen remains out injured and may not be ready to go this season). So Parrish has his work cut out to remain the starter, and assuming he does that then he has to start showing a bit more playmaking ability behind what should be a much better offensive line. It’s also worth noting that Parrish is a solid receiving back who could put up some decent numbers in the passing game as well.

Realistic season objective

There are several other backs that will push Parrish for reps this season, and it remains to be seen if new coordinator Shannon Dawson will ride with one main back in games or go with a committee approach. As of now it appears most likely that Parrish begins the season as the starter given his experience, but as a Fletcher/Johnson/Allen get acclimated to the offense they could earn more and more time. So we see Parrish sort of in line with his numbers from a year ago at around 600 rush yards and a handful of TDs. The difference will be we see other backs stepping up with much bigger roles, which should help the rushing offense be much better overall than when it struggled in 2022.

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