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Penn State offensive tackle Paris Palmer blocks Maryland defensive lineman Jesse Aniebonam during the third quarter at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 8, 2016. Penn State beat Maryland, 38-14. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com

One of the largest members Penn State's football roster might not be on it if he didn't work in the factory that claims to house the largest peanut roaster in the world.

You know Paris Palmer the football player, but what about Paris Palmer, the person?

The Lions' senior offensive lineman was given the chance to share his story for the first time since arriving at Penn State back in Jan. 2015 on Tuesday morning, and it's one of perseverance, rehab, and creativity to reach the pinnacle of the sport he loves.

"I used to always sit in the locker room, be the last one out, because I'm really at Penn State," Palmer. "Now, I still kind of have those times, after games, I just sit back, and say 'wow.'"

A brief roadblock

Palmer, who stands 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, is known for blocking things, so it was a bit ironic that he had to beat a few blocks to get out of Plymouth, N.C., and land somewhere he could refine his blocking skills.

His life journey started in Mount Vernon, N.Y., born Paris Anthony Palmer Jr. to Paris Palmer Sr. and Rhonda Rodriguez, but the family eventually relocated to North Carolina. There, the now Nittany Lion would become a three-time letter winner at Plymouth High School, an all-state pick in 2011, and a captain in his senior year.

But college coaches generally do not come streaming through towns with less than 4,000 residents, so despite his prototypical size, and a clear knack for the game, no schools came calling.

It's how the next chapter in this great story began. And for a guy who always bet on himself, it all makes perfect sense.

Palmer would have to create his own luck for the future, so with that in mind, he downloaded a free trial of some internet video editor, asked his teammates to bring over film from the season, and toiled until he had finished putting together highlight tapes for himself and two friends. They were sent out to a few schools, including Lackawanna Community College in northeast Pennsylvania, and then the wait for a response, with an opportunity to play college football, began.

Meanwhile, there was work to be done so that, if a college offer did come, he was ready. That plan was quickly submarined, though, first by a knee injury during his senior year -- a torn meniscus -- and then another one after the season ended.

"I tore my ACL just playing basketball [in a local recreation league] trying to stay in shape for football," Palmer said. "I wasn't sure where football would be played, but I just wanted to be ready."

For some, the injury would have been a major setback, perhaps the end of the football playing dream. For Palmer, who's voice drips with a willingness to fight back and overcome any challenge kind of attitude, it was merely just another hurdle to leap over.

So he went to work, bum knee and all, at Ann's House of Nuts, which has a factory in North Carolina. It's not clear if Palmer ever worked the largest oil nut roaster in the world, but as a mixer at the company famous for its trail mix and peanuts, he had plenty of responsibilities to make sure the product was combined flawlessly. That meant beat up hands from prying ingredients apart, all while standing on a knee not fit for football.

But money was tight, not just for daily living but also for the dream of going to college, so it had to be done.

"I was literally working in a factory with a swollen knee, trying to rehab my knee, so at the time, football wasn't in my sight," he said. "I was trying to handle what was in front of me. I knew once my leg healed, I would definitely try to go out there and find more opportunities.

"At that time, I was somewhat stationary, so I wasn't able to market myself out there like that."

Fortunately, his highlight tape was doing that work for him.

A chance up North

More often than not, players who need to play at a prep school or junior college out of high school to earn a shot to play at a bigger college, for whatever reason, end up at the school they do because of connections in the coaching industry.

That's how Palmer ended up at Lackawanna.

A mutual acquaintance between someone who knew Palmer and someone who knew Falcons' head coach Mark Duda connected the family with the school, and it didn't take long for either side to realize it was a marriage worth pursuing.

The change would be drastic, though. Plymouth ran a Wing-T offense, while Lackawanna ran a more modern offense, which is the on-field transition of note.

Off the field, Palmer had to get used to living away from home, and also to the demands of a college strength and conditioning program.

And he had to do both after being away from football for about a year.

"My body wasn't where it should be muscle-wise," Palmer recalled. "I was on ice pretty much for a good six months before I started working out again, and when I got there, it was rough.

"The first couple practice were rough. I had never been through something so vigorous."

By now, you can probably guess what happened though: Palmer persevered through a redshirt season, played two seasons at tackle for the Falcons, and then landed at Penn State. which he picked over the option of playing closer to home at South Carolina.

"I guess definitely my relentless pursuit," he said when asked how this could all be possible. "Coming from very small, rural north Carolina town to be at such a prestigious institution as Penn State, that's not a small feat at all in my eyes."

No one could disagree.

Closing time

Three games remain in Penn State's regular season, and then the Lions will play in a bowl game.

After all he went through, Palmer just has four more college football games to play, and only one of them will come at Beaver Stadium.

It's been a bumpy road, much like everything that proceeded his PSU arrival; after starting 11 of 13 games as a protector for Christian Hackenberg in 2015, he was surpassed on the depth chart at tackle by Brendan Mahon and Andrew Nelson heading into the 2016 season.

He could have sulked, but really, that was never an option.

"My coach decided what was best for the team was definitely having Mahon and Nelly start, [and] I was totally supportive of that decision," Palmer said. "I don't know if it was beneficial [to sit out], but you get the sense of 'hey, this can all be taking away from you.' God gives us blessings and he takes them away. I just had to just keep working and not get down about it. I just knew I had to stay the course and keep working at my craft."

Which is exactly what he did, and when he got the opportunity that no player wants, a chance to start again due to a teammate's injury, he slid in and has performed well in place of Nelson, who was lost for the season in October with a knee injury.

"Football is definitely a game of perseverance, and I've always been someone who's been able to persevere," he said.

A lifetime of fighting against the odds will culminate, at least on the college gridiron, in two months. He'll be one of just a few players to hug coach James Franklin and some others during Senior Day ceremonies before Penn State battles Michigan State on Nov. 28, and the emotions on that day should be endless, as should the applause that comes with it.

Because after a lifetime of waiting for this moment, and these opportunities, Paris Palmer has earned it.