MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It’s not quite 14 miles from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins. About a 20-minute ride, if traffic cooperates. A man who once served as a substitute teacher at St. Thomas in subjects including math knows that’s what the numbers say, even if his life experiences tell him the distance is infinitely farther. Michael Palardy is that man. On Saturday night, he’ll make his Dolphins debut at the stadium, serving as their punter in a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. A field trip, you might say. Of course, anytime a local athlete latches on with his hometown team, it’s a statement in perseverance for the community. But Palardy’s path takes it to sublime levels. Try this math exercise:“My first 2½ years I was probably the epitome of a journeyman,” Palardy said. “I was on nine, 10, maybe 11 teams. Sometimes I lose track. (I had) 26 different workouts, so I was all over the place.”From Oakland to Ottawa, Cleveland to Carolina, Palardy, who was a placekicker and punter at Tennessee, has been there, but usually left there all too soon. Too stubborn to give up on his NFL dream, Palardy took the substitute-teacher gig at his high school alma mater to help him and his fiancee make ends meet. Among his students was a kid named Jordan Scarlett. Today, Scarlett is trying to stick with the Dolphins as a running back while giving new meaning to the term “student of the game.”“He was a good student,” Palardy said. “At St. Thomas, student-athletes are held to a very high standard … ”Palardy was meeting a high standard for the Panthers, averaging 46 yards per punt in 2019. There was every reason to believe he’d be back for a sixth season in Carolina in 2020. Then, Palardy, who once was cut by the Raiders a day after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, was playing offseason basketball when he landed wrong, injuring his back. Surgery was required. He missed the 2020 season, then was released.“It was kind of a freak thing in my driveway playing basketball when everything was kind of shut down,” he said. “You just have to roll with the punches.”He rehabilitated. Then, his agent received a call from Dolphins general manager Chris Grier. The Dolphins already had a talented, young punter in Matt Haack but knowing that Palardy’s statistics were just slightly better, they were intrigued.“I came for a visit, and I think meshed really well with what they wanted to do and the intensity that they put on special teams,” Palardy said. “There’s a lot of value to that.”To watch Palardy in training camp is to know hang time shouldn’t be an issue for the Dolphins. Palardy gives his coverage team ample time to hustle downfield. His career net average is 40.3 compared to 40.1 of Haack, who’s now with the Buffalo Bills.
All data is taken from the source: http://usatoday.com
Article Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/dolphins/2021/08/16/michael-palardy-punter-football-journey-substitute-teacher/8158783002/
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