The Illinois football team had a great running attack in 2022, and the offensive line has earned some of the credit.
I was impressed with how the offensive line played this past season. Without them blocking up front in both the run and pass game, the Illini couldn’t have reached eight wins for the first time since 2007.
Offensive tackle Alex Palczewski was a big part of that offensive line. He has been a rock for the hogs up front, and now his great play and dedication are being rewarded.
While Palczewski didn’t get picked in the 2023 NFL Draft, he did manage to land with a team. After the draft, it was announced that the Denver Broncos has signed the former Illinois offensive lineman.
Staying in the Orange and Blue!#Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy // @PalczewskiAlex pic.twitter.com/HdrhGZbeS6
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) April 29, 2023
The Denver Broncos landed an iron man in Illinois football offensive lineman Alex Palczewski
Coming out of Prospect High School in Illinois, Palczewski wasn’t looked at as a top recruit by any means. He was rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1356 player in the class of 2017. He only had a few scholarship offers as well.
Palczewski would land with Illinois, and this ended up being one of his best moves. From day one, he was thrown to the wolves and expected to perform. As a true freshman, Palczewski would start 11 games at guard for the Illini.
Seeing Palczewski starting on the Illinois offensive line would be a trend over the next six years. He would finish his time in Champaign with 65 total starts, which was a Big Ten record. Depending on which one you look at, Palczewksi was either a second or third-team All-American his final year with the Illini as well.
The Broncos were smart in building their offensive line after the draft. They ended up adding a player in Palczewski who has a lot of starts under his belt already. Denver now has an iron man on the front lines.