Interview with Colquitt County Championship Winning QB Chase Parrish

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Playing for Colquitt County head coach Rush Propst might not be the easiest endeavor a high school football player could want early in their career. The legendary coach is as hardnosed as they come but above all else is a proven winner guaranteeing to construct his players into the same mold.

Coach Propst rose to national fame on the high school gridiron in the 2000’s guiding Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama to five AHSAA Class 6A Championships from 1999-2007. In 2008 Coach Propst took over a struggling Colquitt County program that had finished 2-8 the year before and by 2009 the Packers had won 11 games and made the Georgia Class 5A state semifinals. After five seasons of state runner-up and semifinal achievements, Coach Propst and the Packers broke through that final barrier winning the state championship with a 15-0 record beating Archer High School 28-24.

The Packers were loaded with Division-I talent from the senior class, which had five players sign with D-I programs, but the team got a lot of support from underclassmen, especially quarterback Chase Parrish.

Parrish is the proverbial dual-threat quarterback that can beat you with his arm and frustrate the opposition into submission by picking up a few needed yards here and there with his feet. The 6’0”, 180 pound, quarterback threw for 2,835 yards with 26 touchdowns while completing 73 percent of his passes. He also ran for 206 yards finding the end zone another three times.

Having Kentucky signee Sihiem King in the backfield rushing for 2,090 yards with 37 touchdowns took a lot of pressure off Parrish to tuck and run, but the overlooked recruit did complete 226 passes helping build the stat lines for guys like Marquan Greene (Georgia State signee) and Class of 2016 3-star recruits Kiel Pollard (66 receptions, 830 yards, 7 TDs), Ty Lee (51 receptions, 856 yards, 12 TDs), and tight end Shaun Bonner (22 receptions, 175 yards).

In the pocket, Parrish can drop the ball on a 30-yard out to the boundary, a fade in the corner of the end zone, hit his receiver in stride on a fly pattern down the sideline, or execute a read option keeper for a 30-40 yard touchdown.

Despite the winning pedigree, his mobility in the pocket, and possessing a strong arm college recruiters have been slow to knock down Parrish’s door with scholarship offers making him one of the more overlooked recruits in the nation in plain view for all coaches to see at every level of the colligate game.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I caught up with Chase after his second win of the 2015 season, having engineered a 45-14 win over North Gwinnett in Week 1 and a 42-8 win over visiting Plant (Tampa) High School.

Interview

Chase, you had an excellent junior season passing for nearly 2,900 yards while leading the Packers to a Georgia state championship. What were some of the things you worked on in the offseason in hopes of adding a second consecutive title to Colquitt’s trophy case?

“The biggest thing that I worked on was becoming a bigger leader for the team. Now that I’m a senior quarterback I’ve tried to become more of a vocal leader. Also worked on a lot of on the field kind of stuff like footwork, pocket movement, and becoming more accurate throwing the ball down the field.”

Chase, how much more accurate can you be on the field after completing 73 percent of your passes?

(Laughing) “It can always get better.”

I know the Packers have started out playing really well as everyone has expected but in your opinion how does the team look at this point in the season compared to last year? Do you think you guys are on a similar path?

“Absolutely, I feel we have a great chance to win another state title. I feel like we have the same kind of mentality as we did last year.”

What are some of the things you guys will have to do as a team to make another championship run?

“The biggest thing for us coming off the state championship and to be able to repeat this year is not being complacent. That’s what we are focused on right now. We have to take each game very seriously understanding that we could get beat any week. Knock on wood it won’t happen but we play very good teams. We have to not be complacent, go out there and act like we are supposed to win every game by 50, and play up to our best ability.”

What are your goals for the 2015 season? The obvious goals are to win a state championship and compete for a national championship but what are your other goals?

“Definitely to 16-0 this season. We want to get 15 wins in-state and hopefully after we win a state championship compete for a national title in our 16th game. Hopefully we will be able to go 16-0 and be perfect for the second year in a row.”

Do you have any personal goals? Maybe a stat line you would like to achieve?

“Absolutely, I think being able to complete more than 75 percent of my passes this year and throw more than 35 touchdowns.”

After two games what is your stat line like in 2015?

“I have four passing (touchdowns) and 1 rushing (touchdown). Friday night I had three passing and one rushing in the first half but I only played one series in the second half.”

What about your completion percentage? Are you on a hot start with that?

“My first game against North Gwinnet I did not have my best completion percentage, I was below 60 percent. That was not good. I was focused all week and on Friday night I went 11-for-12. The one ball that was incomplete was a screen pass that my receiver dropped. I could have been 100 percent on Friday night. On Friday night I turned it around a little bit.”

What was the big difference for you between Game 1 and Game 2? You mentioned focus, but was it first game rust or did you tweak something with your footwork?

“I think the thing with the first game was knocking the rust off. I took a few shots down the field. I did not compete as many as I had wanted to. I think the following week I realized I had not completed as many of the passes as I had wanted to, so the following week on focused on having a high completion percentage and we got the job done.”

You’re two games into the season and the rest of the season will start coming fast. What are some of the games left on your schedule that you are looking forward to playing?

“Definitely our region play. I’m excited to play Lowndes County. We travel there this year. We get Valdosta at home. I’m really excited about those two games.”

Did you go to any one-day college camps this summer?

“I did, yes sir. I went to University of California and I also went to Samford University in Birmingham.”

How did the Cal camp go for you?

“It was really good, I really liked it there. Great weather out there. The coaches were nice and the facilities were fantastic.”

Did you perform well at the Cal camp?

“I feel that I did. I feel that I did the best that I could. It was pretty decent.”

How did the Samford camp go for you?

“It went good. I really liked it up there. It’s a little bit of a different atmosphere than California. It had more of a home feeling. It was a little more like Georgia, my home state. I really liked it. The coaching staff was really nice. They’re a program going in the right direction.”

Which schools are showing interest in you right now?

“A few I-AA schools like Samford and Mercer and Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Arkansas State, and Southern Miss.”

When you start breaking down of these schools as a potential landing spot for college, what are some of the things that will influence that final decision?

“I think a lot of it is really the team mentality that the team has. If there mind is right to win a national title or a conference championship. I really want to see a team that has the right mindset, leadership within a team, and the right morals.”

What is your cumulative GPA?

“3.67.”

Are there any players at the NFL level who you try to study their game and incorporate some that technique or style into your own game?

“Definitely, my man is Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints). He has set the bar high. I really try to keep my game as close to him as I can. He has a high completion percentage. He throws the ball down field really well and he is also a great leader. I look to Drew Brees for his playmaking ability and his leadership role.”

What is your favorite part about playing football?

“The competitive side. I’m a very competitive guy, I love to win. It’s a unique deal when you get to practice year round with your teammates and then go out against another team and see who worked harder.”

Who has had the biggest impact on your football career so far?

“My family. My dad, my mother, and my brother have all influenced me. They have been watching football with me on TV since I was a little kid. We’d go in the backyard and throw it around on Sunday afternoons. They’ve supported me 100 percent in everything I do. They want me to do my best and are always there for practices and games. They just support me 100 percent.”

Photo credit: instrideedition.com; Chase Parrish with his family after a game.

Photo credit: ajc.com; No. 4 Chase Parrish in the pocket.

Photo credit: imagestack.com; Coach Rush Propst talks to the Packers.