STEELERS No looking back for running back Parker

The former North Carolina player has given Pittsburgh's running game a boost.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The runaway rushing leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers this preseason -- with 174 yards, including 106 against the Philadelphia Eagles last week -- isn't former Eagle Duce Staley or longtime Steeler Jerome Bettis. It's undrafted free agent Willie Parker.
Against the Carolina Panthers tonight (6:30, WYFX 17/62, KDKA 2), the former college backup at North Carolina hopes to show his old coaches, fans and friends what they missed the past four years.
Against the Eagles last Thursday, Parker carried 19 times for 106 yards, or 76 fewer yards than his output last year as a senior at North Carolina, where he had 181 yards in 12 games.
"Aw, now you've gone and wiped the smile off my face and turned it into a frown," Parker said after the numbers were run past him. "I don't want to talk about that anymore."
Averaging 5.3
There's no more looking back for Parker, the smash hit of the Steelers' preseason. He's the team's leading rusher with 174 yards on 33 carries (5.3 average).
Parker doesn't even care that his old coaches, fans and friends in North Carolina will be watching.
"It's like any other game," he said. "You go out and hope to play good, hope the team wins and you do all the positive things in the game."
It's a new start for Parker, who went to North Carolina as a prized recruit after gaining 1,801 rushing yards as a senior at Clinton (N.C.) High. He led the team to a state title as a junior, but never quite blossomed in Chapel Hill.
As a freshman, he made his first college start against Pitt at Three Rivers Stadium. He rushed for 61 yards, had 54 yards receiving, scored a touchdown and was named ACC Rookie of the Week in North Carolina's 20-17 win.
Parker had 84 carries for 355 yards as a freshman, but his carries dropped each season. He carried 83 times for 400 yards as a sophomore and capped the season with 131 yards in the Peach Bowl against Auburn. Parker's declining production in his junior (70-236) and senior (48-181) seasons led to the 5-foot-10, 209-pounder with 4.3 speed not being drafted. The Steelers signed him as a free agent.
Scenarios
"A lot of times you get them here in camp and they don't pan out, but with the talent he has and the way he's played, you just wonder why he didn't get a chance," said Steelers running backs coach Dick Hoak.
Parker claims the coaches at North Carolina made it difficult and that he got an unfair reputation as a back who was afraid to run inside.
"They just had a lot of things going on. But I don't want to keep looking back. It's gone. I'm going forward. I'm going to move on with my life and keep going," Parker said.