Bishop Gorman linebacker Evan Palelei, son of former NFL lineman Lonnie Palelei, goes through defensive drills at a preseason practice last year. Palelei has verbally committed to Stanford.
Monday, April 13, 2009 | 4:06 p.m.
Bishop Gorman assistant football coach Lonnie Palelei, left, stands with son Evan, a junior linebacker for the Gaels. Lonnie Palelei, who played eight years in the NFL, has helped coach at Gorman since 2002.
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Bishop Gorman junior linebacker Evan Palelei verbally committed to Stanford after making an unofficial visit to the Palo Alto, Calif. campus this weekend.
"The campus was so beautiful," said Palelei, who also received scholarship offers from UNLV and Colorado. "I decided that is the place I wanted to spend the next four years of my life… I enjoyed the football staff, the practices and the attitude of the kids on the team. And obviously, the academics."
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Palelei recorded 43 tackles and two sacks last season as an outside linebacker; the position he intends to play at Stanford.
Palelei, the son of former UNLV and NFL offensive lineman and current Gorman assistant coach Lonnie Palelei, has played a significant role with the Gaels since his freshman season.
As a freshman, Palelei played tight end and defensive end for the varsity squad before switching to linebacker for his sophomore and junior seasons. It was in his sophomore season that Palelei etched his name into Gorman football lore when he returned a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown in the state championship game.
With his verbal commitment now in place to the Cardinal, Palelei said he looks forward to a less hectic senior year.
"I'm glad I got it out of the way," Palelei said. "Now I can focus on my senior year and finishing up strong at Gorman."
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