June 18, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Head coach Denver Johnson and the Illinois State football team bolstered its rushing game on Monday with the addition of Kansas State transfer Parrish Fisher to the 2007 Redbird roster. Fisher is currently enrolled in summer school at Illinois State.
Fisher, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound running back, will have two years of eligibility remaining at Illinois State. He spent the 2006 season rehabbing after suffering a knee injury, but as a freshman he played in nine games with one start under legendary coach Bill Snyder. He was redshirted in 2004.
The Richardson, Texas, native finished the 2005 season ranked second on the team in rushing with 289 yards on 48 carries. Fisher rushed for a Kansas State freshman-record 169 yards on 21 attempts, including a 63-yard run against North Texas. His performance against the Mean Green earned Fisher the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
"We were acutely aware of him coming out of high school," Johnson said. "Parrish was highly recruited coming out of the state of Texas, in fact many believe he was the second-best back out of the state behind Adrian Peterson. He's a big, thick, physical running back that we feel has a chance to be an outstanding player. We are excited to add him to our stable of running backs and he should be a great addition to our football team."
At J.J. Pearce High School, Fisher lettered three years and was a two-year starter. Tabbed as the No. 24 running back in the nation by Rivals.com, he joined Oklahoma's Peterson on the Texas Sports magazine's 2003 High School All-Class Super Team. The Prepstar All-American rushed for 1,914 yards as a senior and 1,700 yards as a junior. Fisher accounted for 33 rushing touchdowns in his two years as a starter, including 17 in 2003.
