When he was little, Aden Parish had a cousin who looked at his hair which he said was fuzzy and the nickname has stuck with him ever since. But make no mistake “Fuzz” Parish is anything but fuzzy on the football field as either a bullish running back or an attacking inside linebacker.

“I’ve been coaching him since he was a freshman when led the team in sacks. Last year we moved him to inside linebacker on defense,” said his coach, Krystopher Gross. “When he runs the ball, he just runs over people. He does something that you just can’t teach-he falls forward going down and that big sucker may fall forward for 10 yards,” chuckled Gross. “He’s also got good hands so I can put him out in the flat and throw it to him as well.

Parish ran for 400 yards last year and looks to get more this year as he’s grown to 6-2, 260 pounds with 4.8-40 speed. He’ll share the ball carrying duties with junior Lamarcus Davis as well as quarterback Landon Lemmons. In addition to football, “Fuzz” is also a utility infielder for the Buffaloes baseball team- a sport he started playing at around age five and then took up football in the fourth grade.

“I probably like playing football a little more because I just like the adrenalin rush of the game and I like to play defense better than offense because I like to hit people,” Parish laughed. 

As a senior, his leadership skills will be utilized by Gross for both the high school and middle school teams.

“His leadership skills are as important to us as his athletic abilities,” said Gross. “He’s also going to help us coaching the middle school program this year as well.”

Though he still has a year to make memories, “Fuzz” already has one that he thinks about which occurred in last year’s season opener.

“We were playing Dickson and I got to the quarterback and knocked him down with a one-arm blow around the ankle. He fumbled the ball, I recovered it and took it in for a touchdown,” said Parish. “As for this year, my goal is to be the best version of myself that I can be.”

With eight starters back, a huge offensive line, good speed, and a solid core of talent like Parish, Lemmons, and Davis at the skill positions, things look good for Hugo to make a deeper playoff run in 2022.