Last Saturday's tussle against North Carolina at Chapel Hill held special meaning for Virginia redshirt freshman running back Kevin Parks. The Salisbury, N.C. native not only relished the opportunity to play in front of his hometown friends and family; he also yearned to prove himself against a school that spurned him coming out of high school.
"No North Carolina schools really recruited me, and I used that as motivation coming into this week," Parks said. "I had some schools say I was too small, too slow - but that's their opinion."
Although Virginia squandered a chance to legitimize itself as an ACC contender in a miscue-riddled 28-17 defeat, Parks may have changed the Tar Heels' opinion. His 98 yards on 14 carries were game highlights and continued Parks' stellar start to his college career.
After the departure of 2010 leading rusher Keith Payne, junior tailback Perry Jones was expected to carry the brunt of Virginia's rushing workload. Parks, however, leads the team through three games with 249 yards on just 41 carries for a sterling 6.1 yards per carry average. His five touchdowns are on pace with all ACC running backs and are just two scores shy of Virginia's all-time freshman single-season record.
"[Parks] is a great young man, [a] talented young man," coach Mike London said. "He loves the game of football and he's truly a playmaker for us."
Parks' emergence is doubly sweet for London. He has both alleviated some of the pressure on inexperienced sophomore quarterback Mike Rocco and acted as a counterbalance to Jones - enabling the Virginia offense to employ a versatile, multifaceted running attack. Though undersized for a college back at 5-foot-8 and 195 pounds, Parks' brute strength and low center of gravity enable him to pack a powerful punch that complements Jones' speed. With Parks adding the "thunder" dimension to Jones' "lightning," Virginia has featured a rushing-oriented, ball control-driven offense during the outset of this 2011 season.
"If you look at [Parks] up close and personal, he's more stout, has bigger legs - a different type of back," London said. "Perry, although he can run the same plays, is a get out of a zone, toss, sweep type of guy. They have different styles."
Parks finished his high school career as the all-time leading rusher in North Carolina history, but his home state still shunned him during the recruiting process. After signing with Virginia, Parks wasted no time in rewarding London's interest, flashing his substantial talent with an electrifying debut against William & Mary. His 16 carries for 114 yards included three romps into the end zone, the most for a Cavalier in his debut since Bob Davis in 1964. A week later, Parks scored two more times to play a vital role in Virginia's heart-thumping 34-31 nail-biter victory against Indiana.
Finally, against North Carolina, Parks exhibited his toughness by leading the team in rushing despite a leg injury.
"Banged up, bruises, that's part of football, that's what's going to happen," Parks said. "You just play through injuries and get better each and every week."
Throughout his career, Parks has never been a running back to take off plays. While at West Rowan High School, he carved out a national reputation by toting the ball a record 1,370 times during his career for nearly 10,000 yards. And Parks was not just individually successful - his teams won an astounding 30 straight games and captured the 2008 and 2009 state titles. Even after losing Saturday for the first time since 2007, Parks expressed his hunger for winning and remained upbeat about the state of his team.
"We learn from our mistakes, and I believe we'll fix that this coming week and in the weeks ahead of us," he said. "We don't go negative."
Parks uses that strong mental resolve to complement his physical ability, showing running savvy so far. He has avoided the pitfalls which derail many young running backs overly eager to hit the big play, taking what defenses give him instead of trying to do too much. And with the heart of the conference season around the corner, Parks looks to continue his disciplined brand of play.
"Guys [are] a little bit faster, a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger," Parks said of the Cavaliers' ACC foes. "It's not going to be those long runs; [you] take three and four yards a pop and you live with it, and you keep moving on."
After just three games in blue and orange, it is too soon to determine if Parks will blossom into the next stalwart Virginia running back and etch his name in the record books alongside school legends such as Tiki Barber and Thomas Jones. Nevertheless, if Parks' torrid start is a sign of things to come, North Carolina and other schools across the country will rue the day they deemed Kevin Parks too short or too slow.
Parks "wanted to come home and he wanted to play and do well," London said. "I think his future is bright"
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