Nate Palmer
No. 51 Green Bay Packers | |||||||||
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| Linebacker | |||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: September 23, 1989 | |||||||||
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Career information | |||||||||
| College: Illinois State | |||||||||
| NFL Draft: 2013 / Round: 6 / Pick: 193 | |||||||||
| Debuted in 2013 for the Green Bay Packers | |||||||||
Career history
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| Roster status: Active | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2013 | |||||||||
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Nate Palmer (born September 23, 1989) is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Illinois State.[1]
Early life
Palmer was born in Chicago and attended Simeon Career Academy.[2] During his time there he lettered in baseball, track and field, basketball, and football.[3] In addition to his football career, Palmer was also a teammate to future Chicago Bulls Point Guard Derrick Rose.[3] In football, he played defensive end, tight end, linebacker, and as an offensive linemen.[3] He only played four games during his junior year due to injury, however he still had 30 tackles and seven sacks.[2] As a senior, Palmer had 128 tackles and 18 sacks on defense, while catching 10 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown on offense.[2] His performance earned him a spot on the 2007 Chicago Sun Times All-Public League Team.[2][3]
College career
Recruiting
Palmer was listed as a three star prospect by rivals.com and as the 17th best player in the state of Illinois.[4] He received one scholarship offer from Illinois.[4]
Illinois
Palmer ultimately decided to take the offer from Illinois and joined the Fighting Illini.[2] Also in his recruiting draft class were future NFL Draft picks Corey Liuget, Whitney Mercilus, Mikel Leshoure, and Tavon Wilson. He was redshirted his first year with the team.[2]
Going into the next year, He played in every game that season, primarily on special teams. He had two tackles against Ohio State, and one against Cincinnati.[2] Additionally, he earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the year[2] He continued to improve during his sophomore year, playing in nine games and recording six tackles on the season. He had back to back tackles against Ohio State and Penn State.[2]
Illinois State
Palmer transferred to the smaller Illinois State for more playing time and earned a starting spot at defensive end.[3] Palmer went on to start every game that season for the Redbirds . In an early game against Morehead State, he had a sack and recovered a fumble for a 42-yard touchdown, the first of his college career.[3] Later, when Illinois played North Dakota State, he posted a career high 8 tackles.[3] His performance for the season earned him All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors at the end of the season.[5] He finished up his junior year with 9.5 sacks, which lead the conference. He also had 46 tackles,10.5 for loss, and forced two fumbles
During the final year of his college career, Palmer against started every game that season as a defensive end. During the game against Missouri State, he had his career high for tackles in a game with nine.[3] He finished his career again being named to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Second-Team.[2]
Professional career
Scouting
Palmer was not projected to be drafted and was not invited to the NFL Combine.[6]
Measurables
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in | 248 lb | 4.70 s | 1.58 s | 2.71 s | 4.37 s | 6.98 s | 35.5 in | 10 ft 05 in | 20 reps | ||||||||||
| All results from Illinois State Pro Day[6] | |||||||||||||||||||
Green Bay Packers
Palmer was drafted with the 25th pick of the sixth round (193rd overall).[1] Prior to drafting him, the Packers had brought him in for a meeting. He will probably translate to a linebacker in the Packers system.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Western, Evan (April 27, 2013). "NFL Draft Results: Packers Pick OLB Nate Palmer in Sixth Round". Acme Packing Company. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "Nate Palmer Bio". Illinois State University. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Green Bay Packers:Nate Palmer". Green Bay Packers. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Nate Palmer-Yahoo! Sport". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ↑ "Valley Announces 2011 All-Conference Team". Missouri Valley Football Conference. November 28, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Nate Palmer | Illinois State, OLB". NFL Draft Scout. Retrieved October 26, 2013.