Jalen_Parmele

Jalen Parmele

Justin Alexander "Jalen" Parmele (born December 30, 1985 in ) is an American football running back who is a practice squad player for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Toledo.

Early years

Parmele attended and played high school football for H. H. Dow High School in . He rushed for 705 yards as a sophomore, 1,253 yards as a junior and 1,507 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior. For his performance as a senior, Parmele was named team MVP as well as a first-team all-state selection. He was also selected to the league's all-academic team three years.

Parmele also lettered in track and basketball.

College career

Parmele went on to attend the University of Toledo. He also received scholarship offers from Florida A&M, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan.

As a freshman in 2004, he rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns in nine games. He appeared in 11 games the following season, rushing for 294 yards and three touchdowns.

Parmele broke out as a junior in 2006, rushing for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on his way to a first-team All-MAC selection. He also caught 16 passes for 128 yards on the season. His rushing total ranked third in the conference behind only Northern Illinois' Garrett Wolfe and Ohio's Kalvin McRae. He set a career high with 173 rushing yards against Ball State, and his 92-yard run in that game was the second-longest in school history.

In 12 starts as a senior in 2007, Parmele rushed for a career-high 1,511 yards and 14 touchdowns on the way to his second consecutive first-team All-MAC selection. His rushing total that season ranked ninth in the nation and second in the conference behind only Kent State's Eugene Jarvis. He also caught 17 passes for 157 yards (both personal bests) and the only receiving touchdown of his collegiate career. He surpassed his previous career high with 241 rushing yards in a game against Ohio.

Parmele concluded his four-year collegiate career with 3,119 rushing yards on 589 carries (5.3 avg.) and 28 touchdowns.

Statistics

		Rushing					Receiving
Career Statistics
Year	G	Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg.	Rec.	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg.
2004	9	42	183	3	21	4.4	4	24	0	15	6.0
2005	11	64	294	3	26	4.6	4	41	0	17	10.3
2006	12	207	1131	8	92	5.5	16	128	0	25	8.0
2007	12	276	1511	14	54	5.5	17	157	1	28	9.2
Total	44	589	3119	92	69	5.3	41	350	1	28	8.5

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft, Parmele participated in the NFL Scouting Combine and posted a 4.47-second 40-yard dash. At his Pro Day on February 28, he measured in at 5-foot-11 3/8 and 226 pounds. He ran the short shuttle in 4.44 seconds, short cone drill in 6.95 second and had a 41 1/2-inch vertical leap. On April 15, Parmele met with the Miami Dolphins for a pre-draft visit.

Miami Dolphins

Parmele was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round (176th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. The pick used to select Parmele was acquired from the Detroit Lions. Shortly after the draft, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland labeled Parmele the No. 3 running back and said he would also be a given a chance to return kickoffs. During June workouts, Parmele worked with the second-team offense and also returned punts.

After spending the first three games of the 2008 regular season inactive, Parmele was waived by the Dolphins on September 24 to make room for tight end Joey Haynos on the roster. Parmele was re-signed to the team's practice squad the following day.