The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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could really set him back," Dan said. "Brady never wavered, though. Boston College and Georgia Tech both tried to lure him, but he wants to be at Michi- gan." In November, Michigan did not land five-star Da'Shawn Hand, and a schol- arship that was being banked for the nation's No. 1 player was available. The Maize and Blue could make Pal- lante's day. "I'll never forget it. Coach Hoke said, 'Hey, we want to take your greyshirt away and bring you in during the summer with the rest of the guys,'" Pallante relayed. "I was doing back- flips around my house when he told me that." Pallante's senior season at Barron Collier had concluded, but he was ecstatic and began to plan his future, deciding this winter to give up wres- tling even though he was the Class 2A heavyweight state champion in 2013. "No one had even made it to the third period with him, but he had a pretty severe hamstring injury, and with him reporting to Ann Arbor in June, we decided as a family that the best decision was to focus on healing up and getting ready for football," his father said. Though he didn't finish with his hand raised this year, Pallante ben- efited greatly from the years spent wrestling. "Wrestling has helped with every- thing, between balance, coordination, hands," he said. "When you're fighting to get inside control on the wrestling mat, it's the same thing when you're coming off the ball because at the snap you're trying to get inside the man across from you to gain the advantage. "My footwork is better. Staying low. Learning how to use leverage. There are a lot of things that have transferred over from wrestling to football that have helped my game, and vice versa." "For a big kid, he's crazy athletic," Dan said. "Growing up, he was a shortstop on his baseball team. Played basketball. He was a linebacker in mid- dle school. He's strong and powerful, but quick." Pallante is slated to compete at the nose tackle position for the Wolverines, and is eager to muck it up, beginning, to his delight, next fall. "What I like about that position is you control the middle of the offensive line," he said. "You're in the middle of the defense, on top of the ball. Any- thing that goes up the middle you have to stuff and take up blocks. "It's a really important position be- cause if those offensive linemen get to the linebackers, then that running back is making it to the second level." — Michael Spath Pallante "I'll never forget it. Coach Hoke said, 'Hey, we want to take your greyshirt away and bring you in during the summer with the rest of the guys.' I was doing backflips around my house when he told me that."