Player Profile Jacob Palmarin

BRONCOS PLAYERS PROFILE: JACOB PALMARIN

Story: Brenden Escott

KAMLOOPS, B.C.—Anyone that has followed the Kamloops Broncos football team the past two seasons knows that standout wide receiver Derek Yachison has set the bar very high to be considered a star in the offence, but fourth-year running back Jake Palmarin as making a great case for himself.

The 20-year-old Lethbridge, Alberta native picked up his seventh total touchdown on the season in this past weekend’s loss to the Vancouver Island Raiders and leads the BCFC with 432 rushing yards.

“I try to keep everything balanced,” said Palmarin.

“Speed, power, elusiveness—I’m just trying to be an all around good player. You improve”

At 5’10”, 205 pounds, Palmarin is tough to stop in the open field, especially when you combine his size with his incredible explosive ability. Surprisingly though, Palmarin says football wasn’t even his favorite sport as a kid.

“Growing up, soccer was probably my favorite sport, I was too aggressive for it though.”

Watching Palmarin on the field, it’s difficult to find holes in his game, especially when he has a performance like he did in week three in which he tallied 193 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a rain-soaked victory against the Westshore Rebels. He’s willing to admit that he has room to grow, however.

“I could improve my run-blocking if I ever do go fullback. Every game you get better at everything you do so the more experience you get, the better you’re going to be. There’s always improvement in every aspect.”

Coupled with impressive athletic abilities and an obvious eye for the game, Palmarin has the attitude of a champion and believes the Broncos will go far this year.

“I’m an optimist so we’re going to win every game, and we’re going to win nationals. If you believe it, you can do it.”

Should the Broncos achieve that feat, it would be quite a four-year turnaround for Palmarin and the rest of the veterans on this Broncos roster who have weathered just about all the highs and lows the game of football has to offer since 2011.

Palmarin has the remainder of this season, plus next season to shine in the BCFC before he’ll have to try to make the jump to university or professional football, but he says life after the gridiron isn’t something he focuses on a whole lot.

“I’ve got some stuff in the air but if you want to do something you have to go all the way in. [Football] is a big commitment—it’s a lot of your life.”

Head Coach Brad Yamaoka loves what Palmarin has done this season, but sees no reason to change the offensive game plan, which typically features a pass-heavy approach.

"I think we’re still going to play to our strengths. Obviously Jake is a big part of our offence whether he’s catching the ball or running it, but nothing is going to change unless we get stuck with a situation where we need to do one thing or another. Game planning will be the same. We’re going to look at their defense and their offense and plan the way we normally would. For the most part we are a balanced team and the last few games we’ve showed it. We’ve showed that we definitely have the ability to run the ball if we need to,” said Yamaoka.

The Broncos will be looking for retribution against the Vancouver Island Raiders in the second half of a home-and-home series this weekend. They head into Saturday’s contest at Hillside Stadium looking to avenge last week’s 35-26 loss, and will likely lean on Palmarin and the rest of this high-powered offense to get the job done.