Better Know a Freshman: Peter Parrish

LSU was given a gift when Joe Burrow became available after looking to transfer out of Ohio State. Burrow, the enigmatic leader that has embraced his SEC role, gave LSU a solid starter last year and one who can settle in as one of the top players at his position in the conference. His arrival gave Myles Brennan more time to develop and gave the staff some ease that they wouldn’t have to possibly throw true freshman Peter Parrish to the wolves too quickly. Now, the position is in good hands for the foreseeable future, and Parrish is a large part of that.

The Story

Parrish had received offers from schools like Florida, Arizona State and Kentucky before attending a camp at Florida State. A week later, he was in Baton Rouge camping at LSU, impressing Orgeron and Ensminger enough to earn an offer for his performance. Parrish wasted little time in jumping on the offer, committing before he could head back home to Alabama.

There weren’t too many other QBs LSU had given a legitimate offer to before Parrish ended their search. Grant Gunnell, who had once been a top-tier QB out of Texas, struggled at national camps, dropping down on teams boards before ending up at Arizona. Taulia Tagovailoa received a lot of attention, going with the approach of paving his own path, going away from his brother Tua at Alabama but it was all for naught. It made things even easier for LSU to set their sights on Parrish, and they were happy that he was just as on board as they were.

The Numbers

110 - 101 = Franchise Player. One of the best players to come along in years, if not decades. Odds of having a player in this category every year is slim. This prospect has “can’t miss” talent.

100 - 98 = Five-star prospect. One of the top 30 players in the nation. This player has excellent pro-potential and should emerge as one of the best in the country before the end of his career. There will be 32 prospects ranked in this range in every football class to mirror the first round of the NFL Draft.

97 - 90 = Four-star prospect. One of the top 300 players in the nation. This prospect will be an impact-player for his college team. He is an All-American candidate who is projected to play professionally.

89 - 80 = Three-star prospect. One of the top 10% players in the nation. This player will develop into a reliable starter for his college team and is among the best players in his region of the country. Many three-stars have significant pro potential.

79 - below = Two-star prospect. This player makes up the bulk of Division I rosters. He may have little pro-potential, but is likely to become a role player for his respective school.

247 Composite Rating: ****

247 Composite Ranking: .8988

After a proper evaluation following his sophomore season, Parrish hovered around the low- to mid-300s, settling in at 311 and a top-15 dual-threat quarterback.

The Film

I’ve now come to realize a lot of senior films aren’t made. I guess the videos have already done their job, so no reason to make one. Anyways, side note over...

The first thing that quickly jumps out from his film is...well his quickness. There’s a reason Parrish rushed for over 1,300 total yards his last two seasons at Central-Phenix, leading the school to their first undefeated season since 1944 in his senior year, and a convincing state championship win. One thing I love is his ability to extend plays. Most dual-threat QBs in high school tuck and run the moment they leave the pocket. Parrish keeps his head up and normally finds an open receiver to compliment his effort. He also shows the ability to move around the pocket to find a good passing lane, another great trait of someone looking to make the pass instead of taking off on a run.

While Parrish had a 63-percent completion rate his junior year, he could definitely get better at leading his receivers, which may come with adding arm strength as well. Phenix City was much more talented than the majority of their opponents, allowing some of the bad throws by Parrish to go unpunished. He will have the time at LSU to work on that with Burrow and Brennan in front of him.

The Future

Parrish will have plenty of time to become a better all-around quarterback. With Burrow entrenched as the starter this season and redshirt sophomore Myles Brennan as the heir apparent following his departure, it could be a couple of years before Parrish is a starter. However, there could be some hope for playing time.

With the arrival of Joe Brady and his implementation of a Saints offense off-shoot, there is a place for a running quarterback ala Taysom Hill. While Burrow does have decent speed, he took more than his fair share of shots last year and could use a break. The problem becomes though: Is it worth it to burn a potential redshirt year to add a small wrinkle into a large offense that was just introduced? I don’t think they will, but you never know as summer practices get closer to the season.

High End: Parrish bides his time, gets his opportunity upon Brennan’s departure and provides a true dual-threat quarterback at starter for offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Low End: The arm never quite makes it to SEC standards, and future quarterbacks like T.J. Finley or Max Johnson pass him up quickly.

Realistic: It will be tough for him to become a starter due to the wait. That time he is waiting for Brennan to graduate is the same amount of time that the raw but very talented 2020 QBs Johnson and Finley have to progress. I think there will be a running QB package for him at the very least in the near future, if he can wait around that long.