Kurt Palandech

Kurt Palandech (born November 11, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Nojima Sagamihara Rise in the Japanese X-League.[1]

Kurt Palandech
No. 6 – Nojima Sagamihara Rise
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1994-11-11) November 11, 1994
Plainfield, Illinois
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Plainfield North
(Plainfield, Illinois)
College:UNLV
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Career highlights and awards

High School

Palandech attended Plainfield North High School and was a three-sport athlete.[2][3] He was selected to the All-Area Team for football and baseball.[4][5]

College

Palandech spent his freshmen year redshirting at the University of North Dakota. After completing his redshirt year, he transferred to Laney College, in Oakland, California. In his only season with the Laney Eagles, Palandech threw for 1,634 passing yards and 17 touchdowns while also rushing for 390 yards and five touchdowns.[6]

From 2015 to 2017, Palandech played for the UNLV Rebels, throwing 1,489 passing yards and 14 touchdowns and rushing 728 yards with 9 touchdowns, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.[7][8] In his first start as a junior, Palandech threw for 252 yards, 3 touchdowns, no interceptions and also rushed for 157 yards, with a 76-yard touchdown.[9] This performance in a 69-66 triple overtime win against Wyoming earned him Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week.[10][11]In 2017, Palandech was selected as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation, considered by many and nicknamed the "Academic Heisman".[12][13]Palandech was a three-time Academic All-Mountain West honoree, three-time recipient of the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award, and was named to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame 2018 NFF Hampshire Honor Society.[14][15][16]

In 2019, Palandech was named to the UNLV Rebels All-Decade Team.[17]

Professional

Cedar Rapids River Kings

Palandech began his professional football career in 2019 playing for the Cedar Rapids River Kings of the Indoor Football League (IFL). In Cedar Rapids, he was reunited with former UNLV teammate, Kyle Saxelid.[18] In the River King's first win that year, Palandech threw for 143 yards and five touchdowns without a turnover.[19]

Berlin Rebels

In 2019, Palandech signed with the Berlin Rebels.[20] After missing three games, he threw for 2,306 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading the Rebels to a playoff appearance.[21]

Nojima Sagamihara Rise

In 2020, Palandech signed with the Nojima Sagamihara Rise and won the X-League Rookie of the Year Award.[1][22]

References
  1. Nagatsuka, Kaz (November 20, 2020). "Rise quarterback Kurt Palandech eager to impress in shortened season". The Japan Times.
  2. Goss, Dick (December 13, 2012). "Palandech the ultimate competitor at Plainfield North". cube.sportngin.com. Chicago Sun Times.
  3. "Palandech wields sledgehammer at Plainfield North". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports Chicago. October 21, 2012.
  4. "2013 Herald-News All-Area Baseball Team". chicago.suntimes.com. Chicago Sun Times. August 6, 2014.
  5. "Herald-News Football All-Area Team". chicago.suntimes.com. Chicago Sun Times. August 6, 2014.
  6. Anderson, Mark (December 22, 2014). "UNLV signs JC quarterback". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  7. Anderson, Mark (October 24, 2017). "UNLV QB Armani Rogers doubtful for Saturday". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  8. "Barnstormers Add Quarterback". theiowabarnstormers.com. Iowa Barnstormers. November 7, 2019.
  9. Dewey, Todd (November 12, 2016). "Rebels rally to upset Wyoming in triple OT, 69-66". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  10. Dewey, Todd (November 14, 2016). "UNLV's Kurt Palandech, Torry McTyer win Mountain West weekly football honors". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  11. Grimala, Mike (November 25, 2016). "Palandech poised to finish off UNR for second time". lasvegassun.com. Las Vegas Sun.
  12. "Country's Top Scholar-Athletes Invited to Learn from Silicon Valley Elite at NFF Campbell Trophy® Summit, sponsored by Intuit". footballfoundation.org. NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION and COLLEGE HALL OF FAME, INC. April 17, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  13. Anderson, Mark (August 21, 2018). "Rooting against USC is nothing new to UNLV's Armani Rogers". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Palandech earned the all-expenses paid trip because he was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, which honors academic achievement
  14. "Two Rebels Named To NFF Hampshire Honor Society". UNLVRebels.com. UNLV Athletics. April 11, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  15. "Mountain West Heavily Represented on 2018 NFF Hampshire Honor Society List". themw.com. The Mountain West Conference. April 13, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  16. "Conference-Best 789 Student-Athletes Earn Spot On MW Scholar-Athlete List". themw.com. The Mountain West Conference. July 17, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  17. Wallington, Mark (December 4, 2019). "UNLV Football All-Decade Team Revealed". unlvrebels.com. UNLV Athletics.
  18. Miles, Douglas (March 29, 2019). "QB Kurt Palandech, OL Kyle Saxelid bring offensive chemistry to Cedar Rapids River Kings". The Gazette.
  19. Miles, Douglas (March 9, 2019). "Kurt Palandech throws 5 TD passes as Cedar Rapids River Kings earn first win of IFL season". The Gazette.
  20. "Germany: Berlin Rebels sign UNLV QB Kurt Palendech". americanfootballinternational.com. AFI. June 9, 2019.
  21. "From Germany to Japan: QB Kurt Palandech making his mark in a new country". americanfootballinternational.com. AFI. November 17, 2020.
  22. "Fujitsu's command tower Birdson becomes MVP [ALL X1 Super]". xleague.jp. X League, Japan American Football Association. December 15, 2020.
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