Alex Andrzej "Palcho" Palczewski ( ; born August 3, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Palczewski played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

where he was named a college football All-American for the 2022 season.

Early life

Palczewski was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois to Andrzej and Bozena Palczewski, both immigrants from communist Poland who moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the mid-1980s. His father worked as a carpenter and his mother worked as a nurse. Palczewski grew up speaking Polish, and was still learning English pronunciations through the third grade. Before football, he played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

as a goalie. Palczewski competed in amateur wrestling throughout the course of his time in high school. He also spent two years each in

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

."Fighting Illini"
Profile. Retrieved November 17, 2024. In his junior year at Prospect, Palczewski received his first scholarship offer made by the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

. Rated a three-star athlete, Palczewski received interest from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, North Carolina State,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He received offers from

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, Vanderbilt and Illinois."247Sports"
Recruitment Profile. Retrieved November 17, 2024. Sports writers suggested Palczewski's recruitment potential might have been negatively effected by his absence from his junior season due to a neck injury including a fractured vertebrae."Three-star OL Alex Palczewski commits to Illinois Football over Vanderbilt and Syracuse"
Vainisi, Jim. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

College career

Choosing loyalty to his home state, Palczewski committed to Illinois. He began his first season in 2017. After missing the opening game, Palczewski joined Vederian Lowe and Larry Boyd in making college history as Illinois' first-ever true freshmen starters on the offensive line. He played as a starting

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the last 11 games of the season. In the 2018 season, Palczewski played as a starting right tackle for all 12 games. During his sophomore season, Palczewski was named to the All-Big Ten first team. He continued in this role for his junior season in 2019, starting in all 13 games. During the 2020 season as a senior, Palczewski played as starting right tackle for four games before missing the season's final four games due to injury. Despite this, he earned Big Ten third team honors. During the 2021 season, Palczewski played seven games as a starting tackle and five games as a starting guard. After playing in all 12 games, he earned Big Ten third team honors. For his final senior season in 2022, he returned to his starting right tackle position and played in all 13 games. For his performances, Palczewski collected numerous All-American and Big Ten honors including being named to first, second and third teams. He also served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for the season. Palczewski graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

in 2021.

Professional career

On February 21, 2023, Palczewski was drafted 68th overall by the New Orleans Breakers in the 2023 USFL draft, though he never signed with them. Palczewski was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2023. He was activated on January 6, 2024. Palczewski made his first start in Week 3 of the 2024 season, taking over for an injured Mike McGlinchey. It was reported on October 7, 2024, that Palczewski had suffered a high-ankle sprain during the Week 5 win over the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

Personal life

Palczewski has two brothers. Throughout his college and NFL careers, he has gone by the nickname "Palcho" due to his Polish surname being difficult for his teammates and coaches to pronounce. During his Illinois senior season in 2021 Palczewski co-presided over Lift for Life, a local charity group whose cause is to raise money and awareness for people battling rare diseases. Palczewski named Ivan Drago as his favorite athlete, acknowledging while Drago is fictional, he admired Drago's decision not to express himself through words but through his athletic talent and work ethic.

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bioDenver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palczewski, Alex 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois Sportspeople from Mount Prospect, Illinois American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards American people of Polish descent Illinois Fighting Illini football players Denver Broncos players 21st-century American sportsmen