Media Day: Palazeti Loves Football, Just Not Watching It

Ball State head football coach Mike Neu, offensive lineman Vinnie Palazeti and running back James Gilbert were on hand to preview the 2017 season Wednesday at the Mid-American Conference Football Media Day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio … The Cardinals' full roster reports Aug. 1 to begin preparations for the Sept. 2 opener at Illinois … The home opener comes a week later against UAB … Fans can purchase season tickets at ballstatesports.com.

CANTON, Ohio -- Ball State fifth-year senior Vinnie Palazeti is not what you would call a sports junkie.

You are more likely to find the offensive lineman reading about philosophy or discussing political theory than watching a football game on television. Maybe that's why he posted a 4.0 GPA in the spring.

Palazeti turned some heads Tuesday in Canton, Ohio, when he saw Warren Sapp's bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame and revealed he had only recently learned about the star defensive tackle. At Wednesday's MAC Football Media Day, Palazeti told the story of his friends asking him to name five NFL running backs. He couldn't do it … and probably still can't.

"For whatever reason I just know nothing about professional sports," Palazeti said.

He may not follow the game of football that closely, but he can sure play it.

A Versatile Player
The Michigan native was Ball State's starting center a year ago, paving the way for a Cardinals rushing attack that ranked second in the MAC with 220 yards per game. It was the program's best average on the ground in nearly 40 years.

You would have thought Palazeti had played the position for years, but he hadn't. In fact, he had never played it before. An injury last spring to projected starting center Andrew Poenitsch left the Cardinals looking for a replacement, and Palazeti answered the bell … even if it took him a while to feel comfortable in his new role.

"Snapping a football was pretty hard to learn, actually," Palazeti said. "Just snapping and moving was tough for me because I'd never done it before. But once I got it, center is a fun position. Running the show a little bit with the calls was something I think I was pretty good at."

With a healthy Poenitsch back on the field this fall, Palazeti will return to his guard position. He's the most experienced player on an offensive front that returns three starters (plus Poenitsch) and a total of five guys who saw significant action in 2016.

His versatility and unselfishness played a large role in the success of an O-line that blocked for James Gilbert's 1,300-yard, 12-touchdown season a year ago. Gilbert, the All-MAC First Team running back, also returns this year.

"It speaks a lot about the type of person Vinnie is," Ball State head coach Mike Neu said. "He embraced that change. He worked through that comfort zone phase and played a lot of good football for us. Vinnie is one of those guys who can play multiple positions, and it's a testament to how hard he has worked and the kind of athlete he is."

From Bowling Hopeful to Football Star
Athlete? Maybe it's just Palazeti's self-deprecating nature, but he will tell you he's not very athletic. Or at least he wasn't when he first started playing the game. That's what made it such a challenge.

He first played as a seventh grader when his tiny private school joined up with some others in the Flint area to put together a group of guys large enough to form a team. Already weighing 200 pounds, Palazeti had the physical presence to be a successful player, but it certainly wasn't love at first snap. He and one of his buddies actually had a plan to become bowlers instead.

"I hated football," he said. "I was just so unathletic when I was in seventh grade. It was hard, and my coaches were really hard, old-school guys. I just didn't really enjoy it. But I was just so big, I couldn't really not play football."

What Palazeti did enjoy was the camaraderie with his teammates. That kept him going. During his second year playing with the same group as an eighth grader, he began to have fun. He was getting to play with his friends, and what he now calls a "rag-tag group" turned into one of the best in the area and changed his path going forward.

Instead of attending the high school in his hometown of Owosso, Palazeti made the 45-minute commute each day to Powers Catholic in Flint to be with his former middle school football crew. They went on to achieve success there, as well, winning 19 straight games and a state championship. Palazeti eventually realized he was talented and that the sport he initially disliked could take him a long way.

Family Tradition?
Palazeti's delay getting started in football was unusual given his family's history with the sport going back to its beginnings. His great grandfather Jim Kelly played against Jim Thorpe in the 1920s as a member of an early professional team called the Detroit Heralds … which explains why Thorpe's bust was one of the few Palazeti recognized at the Hall of Fame.

Kelly's sons (Palazeti's great uncles) were standout collegiate players, as were Palazeti's father and uncle who played together at Richmond. His uncle John Palazeti went on to play nearly a decade in the CFL, winning a pair of Grey Cups.

So football was always in Palazeti's blood, even if it wasn't on his mind. His parents didn't push him into the game and were even concerned about injury despite his size advantage over the other kids. Instead, Palazeti initially took to soccer and video games, largely because that's what his older brother and his neighborhood friends were into.

"I didn't even know the rules of football really until seventh or eighth grade," he said. "I went to college football games every Saturday because my dad was a season ticket holder at Michigan State. But I just wasn't there for the game; I was there for the experience and seeing everyone."

A Different Breed
Even now, as one of the top players on a Division I college football team, Palazeti's interests off the field are largely unrelated to sports. He spends his time reading or listening to audio books and podcasts.

What has he been reading about lately?

"I've been on kind of a metaethics kick," he said. "Like philosophy of the mind, philosophy of the concrete nature of morality and things like that. Like moral realism versus pragmatism. I know that sounds really nerdy, but that's the kind of stuff I get into."

It doesn't sound like typical reading material for the average college athlete, even if offensive linemen are often known for their smarts. So what happens when he injects a little philosophy into conversations in the locker room?

"Mostly, I just get told to shut up," he said with a laugh.

But that doesn't mean his teammates don't appreciate him and respect the heck out of him.

"Vinnie is a guy who's well-rounded," Neu said. "He's into a lot of things that are going on in our world. Any time you see Vinnie interacting, you know he's going to spread some knowledge to the young guys. Vinnie is a well-respected guy, voted as a captain by his teammates, and one of the toughest guys in our program. Any time you have those qualities, obviously a lot of guys are drawn to him."

And Palazeti is drawn to them, as well. It's really always been about the camaraderie with him, going all the way back to the seventh grade when he put on pads for the first time.

"I liked football then for the same reason I like football now," he said. "It's almost like a fraternity of guys you really struggle for something with, and that struggle brings people closer together. Yeah, I enjoy playing football and I think I do it decently well, but the real reason is I have a group of friends I'm going to know until the day I die."

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Media Day: Palazeti Loves Football, Just Not Watching It

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