There is a section of Las Vegas where the neon does not shine, unmarked on tourists’ things-to-do brochures, a hardscrabble area where dreams die in infancy.
“There was nothing easy about my path,” Hawaii nickelback Elijah Palmer said. “People see that I played at Bishop Gorman, that I must have had it easy, but they don’t understand.”
His mother was incarcerated; his father was, well, who knows where?
“I was blessed to have my grandparents take me in, raising me from a baby,” Palmer said. “My Papa showed me what it was to be a man. He worked two jobs. I barely saw him because he was providing and trying to put food on the table.”
One of Rocco’s sacrifices was not owning a car.
“He was taking a bus from job to job, walking from bus stop to bus stop,” Palmer recalled.
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Rocco made sure Palmer had presentable clothes, sturdy shoes, a work ethic and a respectful demeanor. Palmer’s room was white-glove clean. To this day, he still addresses adults as “sir” or “ma’am.”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” Palmer said of his grandfather. “He instilled that discipline at a young age. No excuses, no lying.”
Andrea Moore was a preschool teacher who stressed the importance of academics. When Palmer accompanied his grandmother, she would make him sound out words on signs en route to her school.
Palmer said: “I remember my first word was ‘coffee’ because it was on the side of a big semi truck. ‘Grandma, grandma, that spells c … c … coffee!’”
He was 3 years old.
After Andrea retired, the preschool kept calling her. There’s a plaque in her honor. “She’s like the LeBron of teaching,” Palmer said.
His grandparents permitted him to play flag football; they reluctantly agreed for him to advance to tackle football.
He eventually harbored a dream of attending Bishop Gorman High School, which has earned a reputation for academic and athletic excellence.
“Honestly, it’s the best school in the nation, in my opinion,” he said, “But growing up, I wasn’t going to go there.”
His grandparents promised to give Palmer the opportunity to pursue his dream school. Bishop Gorman coaches and counselors “showed me it was possible to go there,” Palmer said. “Once I was there, it was hard work. Nothing was easy.”
He was a two-way player as a freshman, then requested a move to defensive back. He wanted to be mentored by secondary coach Nicco Fertitta, a former Gaels standout. He also wanted to learn from 4-star athletes Zion Branch (now with Georgia) and Jaden Hicks (now a safety with the Kansas City Chiefs).
“I wanted to do what they were doing and accomplishing,” he said of the move to defense. “It made the most sense to me.”
Palmer also realized he would never grow taller than 5-foot-8. He focused on technique and following strength coach Chris Brown’s program.
“I can control what I can control,” he said. “God blessed me with this height, and he’s allowed me to do amazing things with this height.”
After accepting a coaching job with UH in January 2022, Brown targeted three Bishop Gorman players for the Rainbow Warriors’ 2023 recruiting class. Palmer, Jamih Otis and Aidan McComber signed.
As a UH freshman, Palmer showed he could play in coverage and mix it up in the tackle box. The Warriors implemented a nickel — Palmer’s hybrid position — into the reconfigured 4-2-5 defense.
With his grandparents’ encouragement, Palmer has shown grace through the years. He made peace with his mother.
“I forgave her, and then the relationship grew, skyrocketed,” he said.
He also agreed to allow his father back into his life.
“My grandparents told me it was his loss,” Palmer said of his father’s time away from the family. “We don’t hold anything against him for doing what he did. He’s still my dad. He knows he made a mistake. I know he made a mistake. Where do you go from there? You make amends to it and keep going.”
Since joining the Warriors in 2023, Palmer married Heleine, and embraced his Christian faith. He is now considered one of the Warriors’ spiritual leaders.
“I didn’t grow up in the church,” he said. “Once I made that decision on my own, it hit a little different. I wasn’t relying on anybody else’s faith. It was a decision I made. Seeing how Jesus Christ changed my life, it was undeniable.”