Seniors get chance at playing against former coach Parrish

The last time cornerback Jeff Garrett spoke to Stan Parrish was the day he was fired on Dec. 21, 2010.

This Saturday, Garret, Keith Wenning and a handful of seniors will get to see and talk with the former Ball State head coach since the end of their freshman season.

Parrish is now the offensive coordinator at Eastern Michigan University after being hired in the offseason. Garrett said he looks forward to the opportunity to speak with Parrish, but isn’t making the focus of the trip to Ypsilanti, Mich., about his former coach.

“It’ll be nice to see him and talk to him,” Garrett said. “He recruited me to come here and coached me for a year. But my focus is on the game.”

Ball State’s four-year players were freshmen during the last two seasons Parrish spent as coach. The small pocket of players that were recruited by and played for him talked with each other about Parrish now at Eastern Michigan.

They’re also trying to not let it become a distraction.

“We’ve talked and said it’s kind of weird,” Wenning said. “But it’s a business. He’s moved on; we’ve moved on. It’s just the way it is.”

The players have moved on, but they haven’t forgotten that the coach who gave them scholarships to play college football will be on the opposing sideline.

Wenning and Garrett both saw ample playing time as freshmen in Parrish’s final season, helping them jump-start their careers to become senior leaders this season.

“I’m definitely thankful for everything he did when he was here,” Wenning said. “I’m thankful he gave me the opportunity to play college football. So I have to be grateful for that.”

It’ll also be the first time head coach Pete Lembo will meet his predecessor while leading Ball State. In his weekly news conference, Lembo said he had previously met Parrish years before arriving at Ball State.

He also said he’s looking forward to meeting with him Saturday.

Ball State has seen a change of direction since Parrish was let go and Lembo was brought in. In two seasons under Parrish, Ball State went 6-18 and didn’t win more than four games in either season.

After two full seasons with Lembo, Ball State went 15-10 and is off to a 2-1 start this season.

The team will be focused on opening the MAC season with a win and rebounding after a loss to North Texas, surrendering an 18-point lead.

But with Parrish on the Eastern Michigan sidelines, the annual Ball State and Eastern Michigan game will have a little more familiarity than usual.