Heisman / Players / Wayshawn Parker /Utah

Wayshawn Parker

RB · Utah · So · #1

Filling the Shoesas of 2026-06-22

Parker ran for 981 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2025, yet his perception score sits 32 percentile points above his tape.

981RUSH YDS6RUSH TD149CARRIES

PERCEPTION ABOVE TAPE · PCTL GAP

-32

perception vs production percentile · 2025

The name carries 85th-percentile weight; the snaps grade out 53rd. The gap is the open question.

Read the story so far

Parker posted 981 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on 149 carries last season after inheriting the starting job from Micah Bernard. The number that complicates the optimism: a perception-above-tape gap of negative 32 percentile points, meaning the public rates him higher than the underlying film supports. BYU already had him circled as a game-plan target in 2025. How he answers that attention in 2026 is the question Utah's offense is built around.

The tape and the reputation are pointing in opposite directions, and 2026 is where one of them has to give.

RB successioncontinuity

Inherited fromMicah Bernard 3★

Why nowThe 2026 outlook is the live story — the offseason looks forward.

season totals
perception vs production percentile · 2025
throne-line + Filling-the-Shoes

AI narrative · updated 2026-06-22 · compiled from CFB Zeitgeist data

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Utah for 2026As of Jun 22, 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Utah for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Running back · Utah

Returning around him

14% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
3 Utah players drafted to NFL
Transfer portal: -3 net (17 in / 20 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Utah · Last season: 11-2 (AP #15) · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #40

RB · UTAH · BIG 12

Wayshawn Parker

2
#1
5-10 | 206 lb
Richmond, CA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by yards / carry at the 93rd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#2064

<1% win probability

Fan Belief

Awaiting

Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.

Respect Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

Reality Gap

Awaiting

Coming online with player-level FI.

ACCOLADE PROBABILITY

Heisman

<1%

TOP RB AWARD

Doak Walker

—

CONSENSUS

All-American

—

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Aura™ · Him Watch the full board →

Aura tax +32aura tax

Fans rank this player in the 85th percentile of RBs; the tape says 52nd — more hype than the tape.

Aura — fan perception85th pctl

Production — on-field52nd pctl

n=18 mentions · cohort: RBs · 140 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = wepa_rushing

Career Arc

Recruit

★★★

#1670 national

CFB

College

Utah

2025

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionRB

Class2

Jersey1

Measurements5-10 | 206 lb

HometownRichmond, CA

Primary teamUtah

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1670 recruit

Composite rating 0.8467 HighSchool

Signed with Washington State 2024

Origin Grant Union Sacramento, CA, USA

Class	Profile	Context
2024	3-star \| 0.8467	No. 1670 recruit \| HighSchool \| Washington State

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file

Latest destination -- --

Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context

Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD

Season	Move	Context
No transfer portal moves on file for this player.

Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final

Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.

HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16

Current nowcast#2064Latest modeled ballot order

Season forecast#1996Where the full season sim points

Win probability0.0%Chance to actually win the trophy

Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier

Ballot probability0.0%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot

Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

Heisman Futures

Not yet listed on major futures markets.

Achievements

Program Benchmark 5.5%

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA—

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★☆☆

to Washington State

Composite

0.8467

#1670 national

Today’s Hot-Take

The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.

The contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.

Belief Meter

Reading The Room

Sample 17 mentions

Confidence MEDIUM

Top Take

Trajectory

Cohort divergence map

Own fans · n=18
National · n=2

No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.

Signature Story

Awaiting candidate metric

He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.

Signature Moment

No signature moment on the ledger yet.

Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Season Pace · Projection

Where the rushing totals stand

final

Through 13g

981Rush yards

149Carries

6Rush TDs

Per game

75.5Rush yards

11Carries

0Rush TDs

Final

981Rush yards

149Carries

6Rush TDs

✓ Hit 750-yard season · finished with 981.

What made this player interesting

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Wayshawn Parker's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Utah, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.

Current place #2064 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist

Role load 17.2% Overall usage share

Profile quirk Transfer path 0 portal moves

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

RB season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level

Scrimmage yards 1,166 981 rush | 185 rec | #40/735 (95th pct)

Rush TD 6 149 carries | #83/739 (89th pct)

Yards/carry 6.6 Per-rush efficiency | #76/735 (90th pct)

Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Workhorse | Efficient runner | Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.

WorkhorseEfficient runnerPassing-game back

Rushing

CAR

149 91st

YDS

981 95th

YPC

6.6 90th

6 89th

Receiving

REC

13 71st

YDS

185 87th

YPR

14.2 92nd

3 99th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 43-10@ UCLA	11	62	5.6	1	13
Wk 2	W 63-9vs Cal Poly	6	50	8.3	1	43
Wk 3	W 31-6@ Wyoming	10	80	8.0	0	20
Wk 4	L 10-34vs Texas Tech	6	22	3.7	1	5
Wk 5	W 48-14@ West Virginia	9	66	7.3	0	40
Wk 7	W 42-10vs Arizona State	10	55	5.5	0	19
Wk 8	L 21-24@ BYU	8	23	2.9	0	9
Wk 9	W 53-7vs Colorado	10	145	14.5	1	58	Season-high 145 yds
Wk 10	W 45-14vs Cincinnati	17	104	6.1	1	39
Wk 12	W 55-28@ Baylor	15	129	8.6	1	64
Wk 13	W 51-47vs Kansas State	19	100	5.3	0	25
Wk 14	W 31-21@ Kansas	12	95	7.9	0	34
Bowl	W 44-22vs Nebraska	16	50	3.1	0	16
Total		149	981	6.7	6	64

Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2025Utah11-2HC: Kyle Whittingham · Run-heavy

Season	Team
2025	Utah	149	981	6.6	6	--
Career	1 loaded season	149	981	6.6	6	--

Season	Team
2025	Utah	13	185	14.2	3	--
Career	1 loaded season	13	185	14.2	3	--

Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context

Rushing WEPA

Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.

Role share

How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.

Peer percentile

Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.

Traditional first

The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.

Receiving work 13 185 rec yds | #160/552 (71st pct)

Usage 17.2% 26.6% rush share | #126/738 (83rd pct)

Rushing WEPA +0.14 Opponent-adjusted rush value | #141/362 (61st pct)

Open full stat explorer

Group	Metric	Value	Rank	Pct	Why it matters
Rushing	Rushing yards	981	#40/735	95th pct	Volumevs FBS RB
Rushing	Rush TD	6	#83/739	89th pct	Scoringvs FBS RB
Rushing	Yards / carry	6.6	#76/735	90th pct	Efficiencyvs FBS RB
Receiving	Receptions	13	#160/552	71st pct	Volumevs FBS RB
Receiving	Receiving yards	185	#71/548	87th pct	Volumevs FBS RB
Value	Rushing WEPA	+0.14	#141/362	61st pct	Opponent-adjusted rushing value \| 141 weighted playsvs FBS RB
Usage	Role share	17.2%	#126/738	83rd pct	Share of team offensevs FBS RB
Rushing	Carries	149	#70/739	91st pct	Volumevs FBS RB
Rushing	Rushing LONG	64	#88/733	88th pct	Metricvs FBS RB
Receiving	Receiving LONG	52	#42/540	92nd pct	Metricvs FBS RB
Receiving	Yards / catch	14.2	#43/548	92nd pct	Efficiencyvs FBS RB
Receiving	Receiving TD	3	#5/552	99th pct	Scoringvs FBS RB
Usage	Rush share	26.6%	#162/738	78th pct	Ground-game usagevs FBS RB
Usage	1st-down usage	21.2%	#118/738	84th pct	Early-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage	Standard-down usage	19.2%	#144/738	81st pct	Base-situation sharevs FBS RB
Usage	2nd-down usage	16.6%	#141/738	81st pct	Middle-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage	Passing-down usage	11.5%	#144/738	81st pct	Known-passing sharevs FBS RB
Usage	3rd-down usage	9.2%	#227/738	69th pct	Money-down loadvs FBS RB
Usage	Pass share	4.4%	#199/738	73rd pct	Air-game usagevs FBS RB
Ball Security	Fumbles lost	1	#78/256	70th pct	Turnoversvs FBS RB

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION

On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex

AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16

Why he’s here

Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.

What moves him up

What moves him down

Accolade streams

Status—Awaiting tracker

Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Home7g	75.1	6.6	0.6
Road6g	75.8	6.7	0.3

Win vs Loss

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Wins11g	85.1	7.3	0.5
Losses2g	22.5	3.3	0.5

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	YPC	TD/g
Weeks 1-77g	55.0	5.9	0.4
Weeks 8+6g	99.3	7.5	0.5

Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort

78All-Conference

8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: yards / carry (93rd). Strength: rush yards (88th).

Yards / carry#22 / 349 · 93rd pct

6.6rush

Rush yards#40 / 349 · 89th pct

981rush

Rec yards#67 / 338 · 80th pct

185rece

Carries#70 / 349 · 80th pct

149rush

Long run#82 / 349 · 76th pct

64rush

Rush TDs#83 / 349 · 72nd pct

6rush

Receptions#150 / 338 · 54th pct

13rece

Fumbles lost#55 / 201 · 49th pct

1fumb

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

EPA / dropback—

awaiting

CPOE—

awaiting

Success rate—

awaiting

Explosive rate (20+)—

awaiting

aDOT—

awaiting

Deep-ball accuracy—

awaiting

Pressure-to-sack—

awaiting

3rd-down EPA—

awaiting

Red-zone TD rate—

awaiting

Play-action EPA—

awaiting

Scramble EPA—

awaiting

Turnover-worthy play rate—

awaiting

wepa_rushing0.14Mid (p50–p75) (n=178)Mid (p50–p75) (n=184)Mid (p50–p75) (n=362)

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 8 metrics

Wayshawn ParkerUtahBo JacksonOhio State· 91% simDylan RileyBoise State· 89% simMark Fletcher Jr.Miami· 86% sim

Yards / carry

93
Parker

87
Jackson

82
Riley

71
Jr.

Rush yards

89
Parker

93
Jackson

94
Riley

96
Jr.

Rec yards

80
Parker

84
Jackson

75
Riley

73
Jr.

Carries

80
Parker

88
Jackson

91
Riley

95
Jr.

Long run

76
Parker

76
Jackson

92
Riley

68
Jr.

Rush TDs

72
Parker

72
Jackson

89
Riley

94
Jr.

Receptions

54
Parker

75
Jackson

59
Riley

67
Jr.

Fumbles lost

49
Parker

49
Jackson

49
Jr.

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

Player DNA

The Speed Merchant

Cuts upfield fast. Designed to find the crease, not run through the line.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Kevorian Barnes’s 2022 season.

Kevorian Barnes

79%match

UTSA · 2022

Jaquez Moore

Duke · 2022

74%

DeSean Bishop

Tennessee · 2024

70%

Jaquez Moore

Duke · 2023

68%

Oscar Adaway III

North Texas · 2020

62%

Matches Kevorian on

Yards / carry

Total rush EPA (college ability)

Height

Differs from Kevorian on

Class year (lower)

EPA / carry (adj) (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Kevorian Barnes's sophomore season at UTSA (2022).

Kevorian Barnes

73%match

UTSA · 2022

Owen Allen

Air Force · 2025

69%

Daelen Alexander

Rice · 2025

67%

Jaquez Moore

Duke · 2022

68%

Xavier Brown

Virginia · 2024

65%

Matches Kevorian on

Yards / carry

Receiving share

Weight

Differs from Kevorian on

Class year (lower)

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kyle Whittingham

Pass share

39.8%

371 pass / 562 run

Plays / game

71.8

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

4.2%

289 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2025

1 coach

2025

Kyle Whittingham

Utah

Played his entire career under Kyle Whittingham.

HometownRichmond, CA

Height5'10"

Weight206 lb

Class2

PositionRB

Jersey1

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

Honors

No formal honors on the ledger yet

All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.

Honors Timeline

Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.

Season	Honor	Scope	Team / Selector	Context
No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned.

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season	Team	Role	Latest Model	Forecast	Win	Finalist	Official Finish	Points	Context
2024	Washington State	RB2	#2064	#1996	0.0%	0.0%	--	--	W16 snapshot \| Pac-12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season	Team	Conference	Pos	Class	Bio
2025	Utah	Big 12	RB	2	No. 1 \| 5-10 \| 206 lb \| Richmond, CA
2024	Washington State	Pac-12	RB	2	No. 1 \| 5-10 \| 206 lb \| Richmond, CA

Wayshawn Parker

R07 · Impact starter

Identity & Role

Recruiting Pedigree

Transfer Arc

Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final

The Room on Wayshawn Parker

How rival fanbases talk about Wayshawn Parker

Awaiting candidate metric

What made this player interesting

2025 Season · Final

RB season snapshot

What kind of player is this?

2025 Season · Final

Traditional Stats

Advanced Metrics

Player Standing

Percentile Card

Advanced Savant

The Speed Merchant

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Trophy Case · Detail

No formal honors on the ledger yet

Honors Timeline

Heisman By Year

Roster Timeline