The Pittsburgh Steelers have a rich history of undrafted free agent success stories. Those who beat the odds to go from longshot to starter and star. But RB Willie Parker might have climbed the tallest mountain. A college backup running back unlikely on the radar of any other team, the Steelers’ due diligence paid off in bid ways. From UDFA to starter to Super Bowl winner, he still holds the longest run in its history. Inducted into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hall of Honor Sunday, Parker shared the scout inside the organization who believed in him when no one else did.
“I want to send a special thank you and show a lot of love to Dan Rooney Jr,” Parker said during his speech as shared by the team’s YouTube channel. “That’s my guy. He followed me in high school. A lot of you don’t know this and I don’t even talk about it. Him and his wife live in Clinton [North Carolina]. That’s where I’m from. He watched while I was a young running back put it all on the field, week-in and week-out.”
A star at Clinton High School, Parker rushed for over 1,300 yards his junior and senior seasons. He earned the attention of North Caroline but not the school’s playing time. Deemed too small to handle a heavy workload, he never saw more than 100 carries in a season. As a senior in 2003, he logged only 48, finishing the year with under 200 rushing yards and zero touchdowns. Hardly a resume that would put him on anyone’s radar.
Still, Rooney Jr., still one of the team’s scouts, persisted.
“He followed me through college. He came to my Pro timing day. He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘hey, do you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler?’ I said what does it entail? He said I can get you there if you run another 4.2. I ran a 4.26. He said, I’ll be contacting you.”
Pittsburgh signed Willie Parker to a rookie deal, giving him a pittance of a signing bonus, $4,500. He stuck around and impressed late in 2004 but if it wasn’t for the grace of the organization, he might not have made it that far. Parker shared the humorous story of making a big rookie mistake while living in a hotel where the other rookie were housed.
“I watch three or four movies at night. Me, I thought the movies were free.”
Until Omar Khan, the team’s current general manager and “cap guy” at the time, informed him otherwise.
“He said, you have a $9,000 bill on your room. I’m thinking, ‘damn, how much those movies cost?'”
Double his signing bonus, Parker had no way to pay.
“Two days, [Khan] comes to me. He says, Willie, we’re going to take care of it…Steeler Nation, right then and there, that’s when I realized, I can’t be watching all those damn movies at night.”
Parker paid off in much bigger ways. He recorded three-straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2005-2007, helping lead Pittsburgh to their fifth Super Bowl in 2005. Early in the second half, he ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run that remains the longest rush in Super Bowl history. Parker is also the last Steelers’ running back to receive a multi-year extension.
Gracious of his opportunity, Parker spent the speech thanking teammates. Guard Alan Faneca for leading the way and being the first man to pick him up after every carry. And wide receiver Hines Ward for being so much more than a pass-catcher.
“Hines Ward, another offensive lineman. He’s just flanked out a little bit…he made a lot of things easy for me.”
Pittsburgh showed persistence, keeping tabs on a prospect from high school to the pros when no other organization would’ve given his resume a second-thought. And they displayed the grace to eat the costs of an expensive hotel bill. Willie Parker’s work ethic and talents shined through, highlighted again by becoming part of franchise immortality Saturday night.
