When it comes to perseverance, Prospect's DePalma is truly gifted

A lot of kids currently dreaming of playing high-level college sports ultimately realize they may not possess all of the necessary athletic gifts to make it happen.

But it was Santa Claus himself who delivered one of the best Christmas gifts Grant DePalma ever received.

DePalma was the epitome of the Prospect football program's success in the first decade of the 21st century. An all-area linebacker who was long on heart and smarts. But at 5-feet-9, he was literally short on the measureables that attract rave reviews from big-time recruiting analysts and the constant attention of Division I powerhouses.

Yet, just one year ago, DePalma was sitting in a meeting room at Western Michigan University with the football team when Santa Claus (played by graduate assistant coach D.J. Pirkle) entered with a gift. He gave it to linebacker Austin Lewis, who unwrapped it and announced, "It's a scholarship for Grant DePalma."

The room erupted and players engulfed and then lifted the still 5-9 but now 218-pound DePalma on their shoulders in celebration. That was followed by a heartfelt speech from head coach P.J. Fleck on how DePalma's leap of faith to try out for the Broncos paid huge dividends for the football program and himself.

"I knew it was coming, but I didn't know when or how," DePalma said of the scholarship after he started as a junior walk-on middle linebacker. "I had no idea.

"The biggest part of the experience was how excited the rest of my teammates got. Understanding how much I meant to the team and feeling all of that emotion."

For the second straight year, DePalma will start in a postseason game when Western Michigan faces Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau on Christmas Eve (11 a.m. Chicago time on ESPN). A gnawing feeling he had helped him drive a program into the history books with its first back-to-back bowl trips and a share of its first Mid-American Conference West Division title since 2000.

Great start, greater aspirations

Grant DePalma was a two-time Daily Herald All-Area pick for Prospect teams that reached the second round of the state playoffs. He also played basketball and was an excellent student who wanted to study engineering.

He said he looked a lot of Ivy League schools. He considered Drake, a non-scholarship Division I school, but it didn't have an engineering program.

So, DePalma ended up at Division III Rose-Hulman, one of the country's top engineering schools in Terre Haute, Ind. He knew he would get to play right away and he started as a freshman. As a sophomore in 2012 he was the team MVP and a first-team all-conference pick with 100 tackles and 14½ stops for loss.

But after a pair of 5-5 seasons, DePalma believed there was something bigger and better out there for him.

"Obviously I love football more than anything and I love playing," DePalma said. "After proving to myself I could play as well as I did, I knew I could play Division I football.

"(Rose-Hulman) wasn't as serious as I needed it to be. I had connections in Chicago for a job and they have a great engineering program here at Western Michigan, so I took a chance and believed in myself I could do it."

DePalma believed he could do it coming out of Prospect. But his size was a deterrent at a level that is truly serious business.

Early in his sophomore season he knew he could make the jump. Former Prospect coach Brent Pearlman, now at Wheeling, helped a lot by making calls.

DePalma eventually decided on rebuilding Western Michigan. He had to go through a one-day walk-on tryout with about 20 players there and found out the next day he got a scout-team slot while he redshirted.

"Just getting an opportunity was my main focus at that point," DePalma said of sitting out his first year at Western Michigan.

In spring ball DePalma took advantage of extra reps available with a small group of linebackers.

"I did really well in spring ball and in the spring game and the coaches, especially the linebackers and defensive coaches, knew I could play," he said. "On the scout team I took a big role and played my butt off. I was able to prove to myself really early that I could play."

He was on the verge of finding out for sure if he was a Division I football player.

Overcoming adversity

Now DePalma was truly in there with the big boys for a team that would face Big Ten schools and compete against nationally-recognized league powerhouse Northern Illinois. He had already discovered in a year of practice the skill level was amazing and he would have to counter with flawless fundamentals and techniques.

That's where the base he had from Prospect paid big dividends.

"The way we did things and being a part of it and being a leader," DePalma said. "Being a smart football player and the demands on your body and mind. Prospect really molded me into who I am and made me able to do this."

In his first game at Purdue he found himself in the starting lineup and 10 tackles (9 solos) proved he belonged. He wound up starting all 13 games and finishing second on the Broncos in tackles with 102.

His success was surprising to a lot of people but not to DePalma. Now he was determined to back up the scholarship he received when the Broncos opened this season with national title contender Michigan State.

But disaster struck in the first quarter when he tore his groin muscle off the bone. DePalma thinks he initially tweaked it in the preseason..

"When it first happened I didn't think there would be a chance of playing again," he said.

DePalma ruled out surgery that would have likely ended his college career. He decided to try and let it heal on its own and missed three games, including a trip to Ohio State.

He came back for a couple of games, missed a couple more and then returned for the final big three - losses against eventual MAC champion Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, and the program's first victory over a nationally-ranked team at Toledo.

"Obviously it's been a struggle but I would not be out there if I didn't feel comfortable playing," DePalma said after averaging 8 tackles in the final three games. "I need to be out there for us to win."

What's next?

DePalma is graduating this weekend with his construction engineering degree. He said he has a couple of job opportunities in the Chicago area in engineering or as an options trader.

After all, it's time to forget football, right?

Well, maybe not. The belief instilled in him by his parents Holly and Kevin, and by coaches like Pearlman and Fleck, has DePalma thinking about playing on Sundays.

"Football was always my true love and I want to play in the NFL," said DePalma, who plans to do a pro day after the Bahamas Bowl. "A lot of people said coming here wasn't realistic but I have all the belief in the world in myself. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, but if it does then I know I did everything possible to make it happen.

"If you keep working it's amazing how close you can get. Especially if you put your head down, work every day and believe in your goal."

Because Grant DePalma knows there is a Santa Claus. He has the scholarship to prove it.

marty.maciaszek@gmail.com