What Marvis Parrish Brings to MSU After Big Freshman Year

Michigan State got running backs for the present and the future in the transfer portal this offseason.

One name for both now and down the line is Marvis Parrish, who transferred to MSU after just one season at Western Kentucky. Parrish was outside the top 1,000 of 247Sports' transfer portal rankings and outside the top 2,000 on On3's rankings. Despite that, Parrish could potentially be an immediate difference-maker for the Spartans this season.

Parrish's Career Thus Far

April 18, 2026; East Lansing, Mich.; Michigan State running back Marvis Parrish (21) carries the ball as safety Devin Vaught (2) chases during MSU's "Spring Showcase" inside Spartan Stadium. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Parrish is from Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Ga., and was relatively under-recruited. He was ranked 2,331st overall in the class of 2025 on the 247Sports Composite. Rivals lists his only offers as being from WKU, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

He was pretty tucked away in the Hilltoppers' class. Among Western Kentucky's signees, Parrish ranked as the ninth-best recruit that season. He made a difference right away. Parrish appeared in all 13 of WKU's games in 2025, leading the Hilltoppers with 106 carries and 576 rushing yards.

Western Kentucky running back Marvis Parrish (21) runs the ball, with offensive lineman Quincy Jenkins (63) providing cover, against Delaware Blue Hens linebacker Blake Matthews (10) during Delaware's first home CUSA football game, which was nationally televised, at Delaware Stadium in Newark on Oct. 3, 2025. Western Kentucky won 27-24. | Benjamin Chambers/Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Parrish will also make a great receiving back in Michigan State's very deep running back room. He caught another 36 passes (ranked third on Western Kentucky's roster) last season for an additional 203 yards. That is nearly as many receptions as MSU's entire running back room in 2025 combined (41).

In total, as a true freshman, Parrish ended up racking up 779 yards and two touchdowns. That was second on his team (behind WKU top receiver Matthew Henry's 882). MSU's leader in that category last season was receiver Nick Marsh, who totaled 673 yards. Elijah Tau-Tolliver was the Spartans' top running back from scrimmage at 567 yards.

Role Awaiting in East Lansing

The competition in the running back room is bound to get pretty interesting this fall. UConn transfer Cam Edwards, who ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, is the relatively clear favorite to be the featured back this coming season.

After him, though, it's a bit of a three-way race. Parrish is there, but so is Iowa transfer Jaziun Patterson, as well as returnee Brandon Tullis. Patterson is an experienced backup option at this level, while Tullis is a bigger body at 234 pounds who can be used often in short-yardage situations.

The talent that new running back coach Devon Spalding has assembled in one room has been impressive. Parrish's youth, with three (potentially four) more years of college football ahead of him, makes his ceiling even higher.

"The thing that is a pleasant surprise to me about Marvis is how, first of all, willing he is to pass protect, but second of all, how good he is," Spalding said this spring. "He's a very tough kid. He's another player that has that mindset and the makeup of wanting to be great, and I think he's going to do really big things here."

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