University of North Carolina Athletics
Willie Parker's ACC Media Day Quotes
August 19, 2000 | Football
Aug. 19, 2000
Media: What should people expect to see out of Ronald Curry this season?
Willie Parker: "He's awesome. To me he's untouchable, because he can make you miss him very easily. You can even square him up, and he'll still make you miss.
"I'm expecting big things out of him. He looks the same to me today as when I was being recruited."
Media: Do you have any personal goals for this season?
Willie Parker: "I'm just thinking about helping the team out the best way I can and helping us win some games. I just want to win as many games as we can."
Media: What was a typical conditioning day for you this summer?
Willie Parker: "I'd usually get up early and be working out by 6:00 a.m. I'd be lifting some weights, running with the parachutes, things like that.
"A lot of times I'd go out there at night, by myself. I'd wait until about 9:00 p.m., then go out there after my dinner had digested. I'd go out there and do my workouts."
Media: What kind of running did you do, sprints, distances?
Willie Parker: "It was mostly sprints, I don't like doing the distances. Bulldog (George Smith) was a tremendous help with my speed. He helped a lot of guys with their speed.
"We'd work with parachutes and weighted vests. We also worked with the bungee cord. You'd be going so fast with that, it was unreal. You'd be going so fast that with a wrong step, you'd be flat on your face. You've got to have quick feet to handle the bungee cord."
Media: Did you ever get discouraged last year? Did it bother you that you didn't get a chance to play?
Willie Parker: "I didn't let it dwell in my mind, because I knew what I could do. I know that I can do anything if I work at it hard enough.
"I used to play defense when I was in the ninth grade, but I worked real hard at my running, and they moved me up to tailback in the tenth grade."
Media: Are you glad you redshirted last year?
Willie Parker: "Looking back, I'm glad I redshirted. God makes everything work out the way He wants it to work out. He wanted me to get redshirted, so I got redshirted, now I'm ready to play my first game in Chapel Hill."
Media: How do you think you're going to feel when you run out on the field?
Willie Parker: "Last year, when we ran out on the field, I wanted to play. I didn't want to get redshirted at that point in time. When we ran out on the field against Virginia, I wanted to play. It's an incredible feeling to run out on the field in front of 60,000 people."
Media: What kind of hands do you have?
Willie Parker: "I feel comfortable with my hands, I've got really good hands. My hands have gotten a whole lot better than they were in high school."
Media: How hard was it to watch that Virginia game last year?
Willie Parker: "We should have won that game. It was very hard watching it. I just wanted to get out there and help us win."
Media: Do you think you'll be nervous when you go out on the field the first time?
Willie Parker: "I've had butterflies before every game I've ever played, but I've never been scared. If you don't have butterflies, you're not ready to play.
"I'll have butterflies before our scrimmage this afternoon."
Media: Are you still going out running at 6:00 a.m.?
Willie Parker: "(Laughing) Not now, not with two-a-days, they take a lot out of you."
Media: How much did it help you to redshirt last year?
Willie Parker: "It helped me a lot, because I worked on a lot of things I wouldn't have worked on if I had played. I worked a lot more on my blocking than I would have otherwise."
Media: Was it tough not to play?
Willie Parker: "It was tough sitting on the sidelines, because I'd never sat on the sidelines before."
Media: How would you describe your running style?
Willie Parker: "I can't really describe my own style, but I hear other people call me elusive. If you see one guy between me and the goal, I'll try to make him miss me. I'll make them miss me before I'll try to run over them."
Media: How much better do you think are right now than you were this time last year?
Willie Parker: "I think that you really improve if you redshirt. I feel that I'm a lot better this year than I was last year."
Media: Carl said that he was on the verge of putting you in late last year. Did you know that he was strongly considering playing you?
Willie Parker: "Yes, I knew that. That talked to me and my parents about it.
"I would have been ok about playing, because you have to put the team first. I would have given up the year for the team."
Media: How do you like working with Coach Moody?
Willie Parker: "Coach Moody is a nice guy. I like him because he's a coach. He tells you what you're doing wrong, he teaches you.
"My other coaches in the past didn't really teach me things. They expected you to know them when you got on the field. Coach Moody teaches you, then expects you to know it.
"I think that's the way it should be."
