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Ole Miss running back Henry Parrish on unique record pace after easily dominating Wake Forest

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Travis May | Last updated Sep 15, 2024 9:37 AM ET

After Quinshon Judkins left this offseason to join the Ohio State Buckeyes it seemed impossible that Ole Miss would be able to replicate such elite production this year. However, at the time, Henry Parrish Jr. hadn't transferred back to Ole Miss just yet.

This past spring Parrish announced that he would transfer back to Ole Miss after a two-year stint with the Miami Hurricanes. And thank goodness he did because after three short weeks of 2024 college football action he's on pace to shatter Ole Miss records and potentially win some major awards for how special he's playing.

Henry Parrish Jr. on Ole Miss record pace

The run game for Ole Miss surprisingly struggled as a whole in Week 1 against Furman, but once Lane Kiffin and the coaching staff decided to fully commit to Henry Parrish Jr. it completely changed the game. Parrish racked up over 180 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns against Middle Tennessee in Week 2, averaging over 15 yards per touch.

Would that performance be a fluke? Apparently not.

Against Wake Forest, the senior running back was asked to carry even more of the offensive load as he tallied 27 total touches for Ole Miss against the Demon Deacons. While many running backs would begin to tire after such a work load, Parrish seemed to gain momentum down the stretch with runs of 5, 8, 9 and 11 against stacked boxes late in the 4th quarter with the game in hand. Even when Wake Forest knew the run was coming Parrish Jr. could not be stopped.

Parrish consistently flashed electric burst, impressive vision, and gave Ole Miss fans a little bit of deja vu as he looked a lot like Quinshon Judkins in his dominant performance.

Henry Parrish now has 353 rushing yards, 49 receiving yards, and ranks 9th among all power conference running backs in yards from scrimmage through three weeks. He's on pace to shatter Quinshon Judkins' yards from scrimmage record for the Rebels, and is just a couple yards off his rushing peak as well.

If Parrish keeps his unbelievable pace up from the last two games--which will be tough--he could press to eclipse 2000 yards on the season for Ole Miss. That would easily put his name in the hat to potentially win the Doak Walker Award for best running back in the nation.

Parrish' surprise ascension might have caught many football fans off guard, but the truth is that he's always been special. He just hasn't been given a true feature back opportunity before this season.

We'll see how he continues to develop and find success as Ole Miss' schedule gets a bit tougher in the coming weeks, but it's nice to see essentially zero drop off from Quinshon Judkins' special talents as the Rebels try to push towards a 12-Team College Football Playoff appearance.

Be looking for more Ole Miss Rebels Football coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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