Why freshman Duran Parish has left Vanderbilt football; Cole Spence tears ACL, out for 2023

Incoming freshman wide receiver Duran Parish is no longer with Vanderbilt football, coach Clark Lea confirmed Tuesday at SEC Media Days.

Parish, a 6-foot-2, 160-pound 3-star recruit from Biloxi, Mississippi, was the second-highest ranked recruit in the Commodores' 2022 class. According to Lea, Parish left the team after expressing a desire to play basketball.

"We had a conversation and, he decided that he was interested in pursuing basketball," Lea said. "And we support that . . . We'll stay in touch and we'll keep supporting him. But it's like, we always say this mission is going to be meant for certain people, it's not going to be meant for others. Obviously, we always want it to be good for anyone who chooses to come in. But we also support those who figure out along the way that there's something else for him."

The move leaves Vanderbilt with one open scholarship as the season approaches. There are now nine scholarship wide receivers on the roster, including all three starters from last season in Will Sheppard, Jayden McGowan and Quincy Skinner.

Cole Spence injured, out for season

Redshirt freshman tight end Cole Spence, who was a standout in the spring, will miss the season with a torn ACL. Though Spence appeared in just four games in 2022, mostly on special teams, he was expected to step in as a starter after the departure of Ben Bresnahan and Gavin Schoenwald.

Vanderbilt now has four available scholarship tight ends. Two of those are true freshmen Josh Palmer and Kamrean Johnson, and another, Logan Kyle, recently moved to the position. Chris Boyle, a preferred walk-on transfer from Brown, also could play a role.

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"Cole has worked really hard and really has been a bright spot to our program internally," Lea said. "He hasn't had that opportunity on the field yet. And he was really heading towards a big impact this fall, and he's going to have to wait. And we obviously are behind him in his recovery and excited about him getting back and we know that he'll be back stronger."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Duran Parish leaves Vanderbilt football, Cole Spence won't play in 2023