Jason BatacaoWayshawn Parker has been with running back coach Mark Atuaia since the start of his college career.
The junior running back started with Atuaia at Washington State, then followed him to Utah before last season.
And when multiple programs tried to lure Parker into the portal this offseason, that relationship was one of the main factors that kept him in Salt Lake City.
(Charlie Riedel | AP) Utah running back Wayshawn Parker, center, is tackled by Kansas safety Lyrik Rawls, left, and defensive back Austin Alexander, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Lawrence, Kan.
“Coach Atuaia — I started my journey with him, so why not end it with him?” Parker said. “He’s been showing me the way. ... [There was no reason] to leave him.”
Or Utah.
Especially with some unfinished business.
Parker finished with 981 rushing yards and six touchdowns last season. After Utah’s bowl win over Nebraska in Las Vegas, Utah head coach Morgan Scalley consoled Parker after he fell short of his goal of 1,000 rushing yards.
“After the bowl game, I shed a couple tears, and [Morgan Scalley] sat right next to me and embraced me,” Parker said of that moment. “He made sure that I felt welcome, and that I’m going to accomplish what I need to accomplish this year.”
This year — in a new offense under offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven — Parker is expected to be one of the engines driving Utah’s offensive success alongside quarterback Devon Dampier.
Along with being the team’s bell-cow back, Parker is also expected to be featured in the passing attack.
“He’s putting me in positions that I’ve never been in at college,” Parker said of Utah’s new offensive coordinator. “He’s putting me out at the receiver spot and in the slot. It’s a blessing that I ran into a coach like that can make me better.”
That just gave him another reason to stick around Utah.
“I didn’t want to leave the family that I built at Utah,” Parker said. “That was the No. 1 thing.”
