Steelers' Parker goes from college to NFL

Alan Robinson, AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH --Willie Parker prides himself on his speed, but even he didn't expect his NFL career to take off this quickly.

A college backup two years ago, he is now the Pittsburgh Steelers' likely opening day starter at running back.

Parker said Monday he hasn't been told he is officially on the team, yet he seems all but certain to start Sept. 11 against Tennessee because of injuries to Jerome Bettis (strained right calf) and Duce Staley (torn meniscus in knee).

Bettis, hurt Friday against the Redskins while carrying out a fake on a play he didn't carry the ball, has a recent history of leg and groin problems that suggests he won't be 100 percent if he tries to play so soon.

Bettis had an MRI test Saturday, but the team did not issue an official update until Monday. Coach Bill Cowher said Bettis probably will be listed as doubtful for Tennessee, meaning there's a 75 percent chance he won't play. - College Football -

Staley also said he could play a reduced role by the opener, although the team seems determined not to rush him back and risk him getting reinjured.

"The good thing is Jerome is walking around on his toes," Cowher said Monday. "There's an outside chance. But if Jerome is unable to go, Willie Parker will start."

It's quite a change for a player who has done very little playing, much less starting, since his high school days in North Carolina. - College Football -

Parker is almost glad he didn't know when training camp began last month he would be playing such a key role for a team coming off a 15-1 season.

"I'd have the jitters," he said. "I've always gotten the jitters before a game -- and I would have if you'd have told me that at the start of training camp."

The 5-foot-10, 209-pound Parker certainly doesn't fit the stereotypical image of a Steelers running back -- the Franco Harris-Bettis-Staley mold of power backs who gain their yards by strength and finesse rather than speed. - College Football -

Asked recently to list the Steelers' fastest five players, Parker said, "Me, me, me, me -- and Ike Taylor," a backup cornerback.

But the speed that allowed Parker to gain 51 yards on his only carry against the Redskins and average 10.2 yards on his 11 preseason carries to date didn't help get him off the bench at North Carolina. He started only five games his final three seasons there, none as a senior, partly because he refused the coaching staff's suggestions he put on more weight to better handle the punishment a starting back gets. - College Football -

After gaining only 181 yards as a senior, he signed with the Steelers as a rookie free agent and made the team in camp a year ago partly because of his excellent speed. He played little until running for 102 yards against Buffalo on Jan. 2, when most of the starters rested in a game that meant nothing to the Steelers. - College Football -

"It would be nice" to start, he said. "But it's not about me, it's about the team."

So far, the offense has been about Parker and little else. The offensive starters haven't scored a touchdown yet and, because they probably won't play much Thursday at Carolina, there's a chance they could go into the season without scoring since the playoffs.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has downplayed the lack of production, most notably his own, by saying the offense has looked much better in practice and is on the verge of coming together.

"We're real close," he said. "Every week, I'm feeling more comfortable ... and we're only one or two plays away from really making things happen."

Still, wide receiver Cedrick Wilson said the offense "needs to get in the end zone before the season begins." - College Football -

"Everybody's pretty concerned," he said, dismissing talk the starters are downplaying their struggles. "But we're not game-planning plays yet ... and we're on the edge of exploding."

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