By Arsi Sefaj '11
Coming into this season, the offensive line was ostensibly the
biggest area of concern for the Bulldogs. As a senior and the only
returning starter on the line, Cory Palmer had to shoulder a lot of
responsibility, both as a player and as a leader. And if te first
two games of the season are any indication, the Yale offensive line
is going to be just fine.
“We have a bunch of young group of guys on the O-line, and I
would say that that’s the only negative,” said Palmer.
“But the talent’s there; our best five can compete with
anyone, its just a matter of getting them the experience and
getting it fast.”
Yet by all accounts, the offensive line has performed admirably.
The O-line has opened holes for senior running back Jordan Farrell,
who has picked up 165 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. And
after allowing six sacks in the opener, the Bulldogs allowed just
one last week against Cornell.
Palmer commented on the Georgetown game, “We had a couple of
small errors on the line, letting guys through. But these were
mostly little mental errors, and going forward I think we’re
going to be fine.”
At six-foot-seven and 290 pounds, Cory Palmer is an imposing
figure. Yet this wasn’t always the case. When Palmer first
arrived at Yale, two weeks before the start of camp his freshman
year, he weighed about 240. After the end of his senior football
season in high school, Palmer had picked up basketball for the
first time. Being unused to the high level of conditioning required
for the long basketball season, he had lost 20 to 30 pounds by the
end of the year.
“When I first got to Yale, I wasn’t a Division I
varsity football player at all,” said Palmer. “I just
wasn’t big enough. So I spent my entire freshman and
sophomore years making myself into an offensive lineman. But it was
awesome; it’s every guy’s dream to lift weights and eat
whatever you want.”
By last season, Palmer had gotten up to around 320 pounds.
However, during this past off-season, he has trimmed down to a more
powerful, slimmer physique.
“I had a lot of bad weight last year, but right now at 290 I
am stronger and quicker than I’ve ever been,” he said.
“This is definitely the best playing weight for
me.”
Palmer’s friends on the team recognize the work he has put
in.
“Cory and I often worked out together and pushed each other
in the offseason, especially this summer,” said senior
defensive lineman Tom McCarthy. “After spring ball this year,
coaches asked him to drop a little weight. He spent extra time
lifting and running this summer, which helped him get much stronger
while losing weight. He's played four positions on the offensive
line this season so far. His work ethic has allowed him to be our
most versatile and best offensive lineman.”
During his freshman year, Palmer played on the junior varsity
squad. He got some playing time with the varsity team on the field
goal unit as a sophomore, but it was during his junior season that
Palmer got his big chance. One of the returning starting guards had
experienced a season-ending injury in the off-season, so Palmer
went into preseason knowing he would be competing for the starting
spot.
“I got thrown into the rotation with the ‘ones’
pretty fast and had to learn quickly,” said Palmer. “It
is the biggest jump, from junior varsity to Division I varsity
football. You can’t prepare for it until you actually play in
a game, so that first game was pretty nerve wracking.”
Luckily, that first game went well for the Bulldogs. The Elis
opened the 2008 season with a 47-7 win at Georgetown. For Palmer,
his first three varsity plays were a 40-yard pass, a big run, then
a short pass in the end zone.
“I thought, ‘Wow, I hope it’s always going to be
this easy,’ but of course it wasn’t,” joked
Palmer.
Now going into his senior season, Palmer’s goal is to
compete for an Ivy League Championship. He is excited by the
philosophy of Tom Williams, Yale’s new Joel E. Smilow
’54 Head Coach of Football, who refuses to have set starters,
but rather always puts on the field the guys who are playing the
best.
“It really keeps everyone playing as hard as they can,
whenever they can,” said Palmer. “It means that
everyone has something to go out and compete for when they are
practicing, they aren’t just going through the motions. This
approach is especially appropriate with the offensive line right
now, because we have a bunch of young guys around the same talent
level. Any one of them could be out there, it just depends on who
is practicing better and who is making fewer mistakes.”
Aside from football, Palmer is an economics major as well as the
secretary and “grillmaster” at DKE fraternity. He says
that economics is tough, but he enjoys it.
“I’m definitely a math guy” said Palmer.
“I wouldn’t say I love it, but it definitely comes more
naturally to me.”
Though he hasn’t made too many plans yet for after
graduation, he is considering working for his father’s
excavation company back in Ohio. Palmer and Son Excavating was
founded by Cory’s father and grandfather many years ago.
Given that they work with oil and gas wells, the family business
has piqued Palmer’s interest.
“Fossil fuels and energy have become very controversial
issues at the moment; they are both interesting and important, and
the field is certainly something that I have taken a liking
to,” said Palmer.
Alternatively, he is also very interested in working in
Washington, D.C., behind the scenes in politics — perhaps in
activity directing or events organizing.
“I want to see what else the world has to offer, besides
sitting in Wooster, Ohio,” said Palmer. “I have an aunt
who works for the Republican Governor’s Association in D.C.,
and every time I have visited, I have loved the city. And her job
seems very interesting. It is definitely a place I want to see and
explore.”
