Four years ago, Paris Palmer stood on a swollen knee in a rural North Carolina factory -- Ann’s House of Nuts -- and spent his days making trail mix. As he’d break down dates, which tended to cut up his company-issued gloves, he could never quite shake that distant dream of college football.
He couldn’t have been blamed for giving up. He was an all-state offensive lineman, sure. But coaches’ interest evaporated once he tore his ACL playing basketball after his senior season. His offense ran the Wing-T, so he didn’t even have a passing knowledge of pass-blocking.