Parrish finds a 'brotherhood' at Pitt
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Henry Parrish waited a few days after his official visit before he committed to Pitt, but the Miami (Fla.) Columbus running back says he knew how he felt about the Panthers as soon as he got to town last Friday.
“I’ll start like this: as soon as I got to my visit, it felt like it was my home,” Parrish told Panther-Lair.com. “It was all open arms and I felt like I was welcome. I kind of compare it to Columbus: it’s a brotherhood, something you can’t forget. That’s my home for the next three or four years and that’s why I committed.”
Parrish announced his commitment on Wednesday afternoon, concluding a six-day stretch where he put considerable thought into something he heard from Pitt running back V’Lique Carter, who was his host on the visit.
“V’Lique said it’s all love. They love you out here and it’s a brotherhood. That’s where I got that word from: brotherhood. He was telling how everybody comes together as one and has fun and enjoys the moment.”
Parrish is Pitt’s ninth commitment in the 2020 recruiting class and the sixth to commit from last weekend’s official visits. He is also the Panthers’ third commitment in the class from the state of Florida.
Parrish picked Pitt over Power Five offers from Florida State, Indiana, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
This past weekend was Parrish’s first visit to Pitt, and he had high praise for the trip.
“I love the city. You come out of the tunnel and see the stadium and the mountains, and I just loved it all. I loved the mountains. I loved the view Everything.”
Parrish said there was something else he saw that helped convince him Pitt was the right place.
“When I saw my mom’s face - I don’t see that very often. She had a big smile on her face. She loved it there. The academic center, she said this is the place to be because the only time you fail there is if you don’t do it. They give you lot of help and that’s what I need. I need somebody by my side. I feel that from the coaches, too. 100%.”
Parrish said he is looking forward to working with Pitt running backs coach Andre Powell.
“I think I could learn a lot from him. There’s a lot I need to work on and I feel like he’s a guy who can help me get to where I need to be.”
Last season, Parrish (5’11” 180) rushed for 1,878 yards and seven touchdowns on 181 carries (10.4 yards per carry). He also caught 13 passes for 152 yards, giving him more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in 14 games.
“My speed and my vision; that’s what I do well,” he said. “I think I can make guys miss and outrun them.”
With Parrish on board, Pitt now has nine commitments in the class of 2020. He is joined by fellow Floridians Samuel Williams and Emmanuel Belgrave, Georgians Jaylon Barden, Tee Denson and Hunter Sellers, Bangally Kamara from Ohio and Solomon DeShields from New Jersey.