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Senior receives offers, Power 5 interest

Senior+receives+offers%2C+Power+5+interest

By Leo Garkisch, copy editor
When senior Alex Palczewski was informed that a fractured a bone in his neck closed the books on his junior season after just one game, he would have laughed at the proposition that in just one year’s time, power-five colleges would be offering him full-ride scholarships to play the sport he has grown up loving.
 But today, that’s exactly the case, as the 270-pound, 6-foot-6 offensive tackle has received official offers from Illinois, Syracuse and Vanderbilt, and Indiana, Western Michigan and North Carolina State have demonstrated interest in his talents.
“The one thing that I always compare it to is being picked first in dodgeball,” Palczewski said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, they want me.’ It’s pretty cool.”
Despite not having any colleges scouting him at games, Palczewski was still able to get this interest almost out of the blue thanks to his offensive line coach and social science teacher Tim Beishir.
The interest started pouring in when Beishir compiled and posted a video of highlights from Palczewski’s senior season to the website Hudl, a platform many collegiate athletics programs use to discover high school talent.
Most prospective Division-I athletes begin to raise the eyebrows of college coaches throughout their junior seasons. Since Palczewski’s was cut short, Beishir’s videos, the most notable of which were posted in mid-November, were the first opportunities colleges have had to see what Palczewski can do on the field.  
 “There would have been a lot of interest in him previously, but he didn’t play his junior year, so it’s been a wild and crazy time since that film came out,” Beishir said. “Usually this process takes place over the period of about a year, and we’re doing it in six weeks. So it’s been a whirlwind.”
Now that video has nearly 1,500 views, and Palczewski says he is overwhelmed, but in a good way.
“I really didn’t see this coming,” Palczewski said. “I knew I would be able to get interest from smaller colleges, but I didn’t think Big Ten schools would be calling.”
But around the corner is a dead period where the NCAA doesn’t allow coaches to meet with potential recruits from Dec. 12 to Jan. 13 before he has to officially sign his letter of intent by Feb. 6. Palczewski says he will take this time to take a step back and think everything over.
“My number one thing is having a great relationship with [the school’s] offensive line coach,” Palczewski said. “The one thing that I loved here at Prospect was me and Mr. Beishir having a great relationship. And I think if I have one of those in college, that will make me be the best player possible.”
He dreams of someday playing in the NFL, but says that he will look for a school that will give him a solid foundation for a career pathway and success after football in either construction management or physical therapy.
“I’m a bit nervous. Making a decision is going to be tough,” Palczewski said. “But I know the decision that I make with the gut feeling I have … is going to be the right one.”

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