Athlete Of The Week: Nick Palazzo '03

The Ivy League has become a passing league so quickly that it's easy to forget the importance of a decent running game. And in light of the beating the Harvard defense conferred on Columbia on Saturday, it's easy to overlook the fact that Nick Palazzo rushed for 108 yards in the same game.

By now, however, Palazzo is probably used to being an afterthought.

The tailback began the year behind senior Chuck Nwokocha, junior Jared Lewis, and fellow sophomore Matt Leiszler on the Crimson depth chart. When injuries hit the running game hard, Palazzo stepped into the spotlight and helped fill the void originally created by the departure of Chris Menick '00, Harvard's all-time leading rusher.

Palazzo has quietly helped the Crimson ground game more than hold its own. He and Leiszler teamed up to lead the Crimson to a 309-yard running assault two weeks ago against Dartmouth, contributing 79 yards apiece.

Saturday belonged to Palazzo. He rushed for 25 yards on Harvard's second trip down the field to set up Neil Rose's 10-yard touchdown run.

Then, he really started to carry the offense.

Palazzo bursts along the right hashmarks for 11 and 12 yards highlighted a 75-yard Harvard drive near the end of his 82-yard first half. Palazzo was responsible for 50 of those yards, and appropriately got to finish the drive with a short endzone plunge to give Harvard a 24-0 lead.

Columbia's Johnathan Reese entered the game as the Ivy League's most electrifying running back, having amassed over 150 yards per game this year. Palazzo outperformed him on Saturday while splicing together his third 100-yard rushing performance of the 2000 season.

Not bad for a guy who wasn't supposed to get many carries this year.

When asked about his rise from pre-season anonymity, Palazzo shrugged. "I didn't worry about any of that," he said. "I just worked as hard as I could in practice. I guess when you do that, good things happen."

Palazzo was pulled early in the fourth quarter, the game's outcome already secure. He left without the fanfare that accompanied Robbie Wright's first quarter field goal or Neil Rose's departure at around the same point.

Odds are, Palazzo didn't mind. He should be used to the anonymity by now.