— Former North Carolina State University wide receiver Tobais Palmer took the long road, but he’s finally back in his home state as a member of the Carolina Panthers.

Before signing with Carolina on May 20, Palmer spent time with the San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars, but the N.C. State alumnus has never appeared in a regular-season contest.

The Pittsboro native and two-time conference offensive player of the year at Northwood High School was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a rookie after going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft.

“A couple days after being with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I got a call from the Panthers and they asked if I wanted to come back home and play,” Palmer said. “It was the best phone call of my life because I’ve always been praying and wanting to come back to my home state. It’s just a blessing that I got that phone call.”

The 5-foot-10, 195 speedster tallied 1,277 yards, 91 receptions and 11 touchdowns while at N.C. State. He also racked up 1,172 yards on punt and kick returns and two touchdowns in his final season as a member of the Wolfpack, both of which led the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Palmer, however, is not the only representative of a Triangle school on the Panthers’ current roster. Former Duke University tight end Braxton Deaver and safety – now linebacker – Jeremy Cash, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill safety Tre Boston are now Palmer’s teammates.

“We always go back and forth talking junk to each other,” Palmer said. “Just to be able to come together and play on a team together and be able to be teammates is very good.”

On Tuesday, Boston jokingly said he was unaware there were any other Triangle representatives on the team.

“We only have North Carolina guys on this team, right? I’m positive, we got nobody else besides North Carolina guys,” Boston said. “It [Duke] is in New Jersey, right? State? Is that in West Virginia?

“I really didn’t know we had anybody on the team that was from the Triangle.”

Rivalries aside, Palmer said he’s focused on working together with his former rivals to better the team moving forward.

“We always talk about rivalries here and there, but we’ve all grown from that stage and we’re on the same team now so we’re trying to get a world championship,” he said.

Palmer said wide receivers coach Ricky Proehl has challenged him during practice sessions, but he’s ready to do whatever it takes to earn a regular season roster spot.

“I’m just learning the playbook, tackling everything every day,” Palmer said. “Coach Proehl is throwing everything at me; I’m just trying to learn everything so I can go full force come training camp.”

Palmer, who also participated in track and field at N.C. State, said his speed and agility outweigh his size at the NFL level.

“I have the ability to play here, I have the speed,” he said. “Size doesn’t really matter in this game anymore, it’s all about speed and smartness. Right now, as long as I’m tackling the plays and learning the playbook I’ll be fine.”

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