"He has stepped up a whole lot at tailback since Chuck [Nwokocha] went down," Leiszler said.

Senior tailback Chuck Nwokocha began the season as the top option in the Crimson backfield, but tore his MCL in Harvard's season-opening loss to Holy Cross. Junior Jared Lewis, who was ahead of Palazzo on the depth chart, also went down with injury.

While unfortunate for the team, the injury provided an opening for Palazzo, and he has run with it.

"I just want to keep improving," Palazzo said. "I want to be the total player, and I don't want to let my teammates down. I'm inspired by my dad; he came [to the U.S.] from Italy when he was 20. He's a hard worker, gets up every morning and just works."

Like father, like son: Palazzo gets focused before work each Saturday. He remains reticent before the game, sleeps next to his jersey Friday night and reads letters and messages from loved ones to get himself motivated.

"He stepped up when a lot of people thought we were down after our two backs went down," Morris said. "He's pretty quiet, and leads by example."

According to Morris, however, when Palazzo is in the game he is a "wild man."

Palazzo plays within himself and according to a style that is not quite like anyone else's. He likes to watch Barry Sanders' sharp cutbacks and speed, but he is a self-proclaimed north-south runner. He likes to watch Eddie George's combination of size and athleticism, but size is not one of Palazzo's attributes.

Palazzo has molded his own style of running this year, bruising through defensive lines and breaking the tackles of defensive backs. He has emerged as one of the team's offensive leaders.

"Nick's one of the hardest working kids I know," Leiszler said. "He cares about the team and football as much as anybody. And it rubs off on everybody."

"He's someone we can count on," Morris said. "He gives us the emotion we need in big games."

Some of Palazzo's motivation comes when he sees how hard his teammates work on the field.

"It fires me up," Palazzo said. "Football is about intensity. We have 10 Saturdays a year to have fun and get crazy."

The Game, however, isn't a usual Saturday afternoon for Palazzo.

"Last year's was a tough game to lose," he said. "I'll never forget that."