Blue White Illustrated

FRONT AND CENTER efore he started a game on Penn State's offensive line, before he even played for Lackawanna Community College, Paris Palmer worked in a factory in North Carolina where he mixed trail mix – dried fruit and nuts – every day. "Dates," Palmer laughed, recalling his journey. "Have you ever heard of dates?" Palmer had hurt his knee playing bas- ketball, an injury that threatened to derail his college football hopes. Without a scholarship offer after graduation, still re- covering from ACL surgery, he got a day job on an assembly line while waiting for his chance. "I was literally working in a factory with a swollen knee," he said. "At the time, football wasn't in my sight. I was trying to handle what was in front of me." It's a fascinating story how he pieced together his own highlight videos and sent them to college coaches throughout the country, and one that Palmer was able to tell for the first time since arriving at Penn State to a pool of reporters in early November. It's also one that even his teammates hadn't known about. "I heard he talked about a peanut story where he was working in a peanut factory," quar- terback Trace McSorley said. "I hadn't heard" about the trail mix factory. Why then, after starting 14 games for the Nittany Lions, was Palmer just now telling his story? It's PSU's longstanding policy not to allow first-year players, juco transfers included, to speak with media. Then to begin his second year, Palmer was beat out for his starting position, adding to his college football saga. There- fore, as head coach James Franklin ac- knowledged, reporters "weren't banging down the door" for interviews. But then came the Maryland game, dur- ing which junior right tackle Andrew Nel- son suffered a season-ending leg injury. The coaches switched junior Brendan Mahon from left tackle to the right side and inserted Palmer at Mahon's former spot, the position at which he played the bulk of last season. Five weeks later at Indiana, Palmer's journey took another twist. After exiting the game in the first quarter, he returned to the sideline in the second half on crutches. Palmer's injury was emblematic of what the Nittany Lions have had to face this season, having lost four of five starters, as freshman Connor McGovern didn't finish the game against the Hoosiers, either. With Palmer out – in addition to Nelson and Mahon – freshman guard Ryan Bates moved to left tackle. At guard, the Lions inserted senior Derek Dowrey, who had been a starter at the beginning of the sea- son, and redshirt freshman Steven Gon- zalez. By the end of Penn State's afternoon in Bloomington, the only lineman who was still at his customary spot on the depth chart was starting center Brian Gaia. And yet, the Nittany Lions managed to over- come the Hoosiers, 45-31. "Luckily this year we have depth. If this would have been last year, we would have really been scratching to find people to go in just because they had been so young or redshirts or something like that," said Gaia, who was the only lineman to start and complete all of PSU's first 10 games at the same position. "We all have confi- dence in each other. Coach [Matt] Limegrover does a really good job making sure I get reps with Gonzalez in practice or I get reps with Dowrey. They mix and match people in groups, so that way, in case [there are injuries], we have the ex- perience. We all have trust in each other that we're going to do our jobs, and that's basically what it boils down to." Having an experienced option to step in at a position of need is one reason – not the only one – why the offensive line has made steady strides throughout the 2016 season. "That's what you want," Franklin said. "We didn't have that in the past, that type of competition, where guys were battling for spots. It was a true competition" in this year's preseason camp. The improved depth has helped a once- beleaguered unit develop into an effective facet of a high-scoring offense. The Lions had a tough afternoon on the ground against an Indiana defense that sold out to stop the run, but they still emerged from that game ranked third in the Big Ten in scoring (35.5 points per game) and fourth in total offense (414.4 yards per game). And Nelson wasn't the only starter who needed to be replaced, nor were the injuries against Indiana any- thing out of the ordinary this season. On the first snap of the Iowa game, Mahon suffered a lower leg injury. He didn't return to the game and was held out the following week against the Hoosiers. Stepping in opposite Palmer has been Chasz Wright. The redshirt sophomore had a miscue against the Hawkeyes, allow- ing one sack, but he improved as the game went on. "From then, he didn't give up any more ground," McSorley said. "That was the only one we had. I think it was awe- some for Chasz to be able to step in, and for him to come in and not miss a beat." FOOTBALL 2016 | B Its depth has been tested, but the line has contributed to PSU's surge

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