ROCKY : He’s Labeled Slow, but Titan Receiver Rocky Palamara Is Quickly Catching Up in Record Book

Rocky Palamara is the Cal State Fullerton receiver with the quick wit, the quick smile and the slow time in the 40.

He’s a fast study who specializes in the slow burn. So what if Rocky isn’t short for Rocket, as Fullerton publicist Mel Franks jokes.

Five games into his second and final season with the Titans, Palamara is 11 receptions, 84 yards and five touchdowns from becoming the Titans’ career leader in all three receiving categories.

That would put him ahead of such Titan receivers as Todd White (‘83, ‘85-87), the jack-of-all-trades who currently owns the career reception (98) and yardage (1,504) records, and Stan Chapman (‘70-72) and Allen Pitts (‘81, ‘83-85), who share the career touchdown mark with 16.

Palamara, who owns Fullerton’s single-season record for yardage (875), has already surpassed the career numbers of James Pruitt and Corn Redick (‘82-85), members of the Titan Bomb Corps who made it to the National Football League.

“It’s going to be kind of funny to see my name on the top of the list,” Palamara said.

For the record, Palamara says his time in the 40 is 4.65 or 4.7 seconds, which does not make him a speedster. So he is stuck with the tag of slow, and he hears it often.

“That’s the first thing everyone always says to me--scouts, agents, everyone,” Palamara said. “ ‘Can you get faster?’ If I could, I think I would have done it a long time ago.”

Jim Chaney, an assistant coach who works with the receivers, hears it, too.

“I’m tired of everybody saying that,” Chaney said. “He might not time well in the 40, but I could give a damn what his time in the 40 is. That 40 speed and football-playing speed are two different things. We wish our other receivers who time better than he does did what he does. He’s the best one we’ve got.”

Nevada Las Vegas is one of many teams that found out how good Palamara is. The Runnin’ Rebels used man coverage against Fullerton Saturday, and Palamara caught 11 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns, including a 59-yard play on which most of the yardage came on Palamara’s run after the catch.

“I think anyone who watches Rocky Palamara run would have second thoughts about playing anything but man,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said. “But he has that innate ability to get open.”

Chaney admires what he calls Palamara’s efficiency after he makes the catch.

“Even though his speed is not 4.4, he maximizes,” Chaney said. “He splits the defenders well. He does things he shouldn’t be able to do.”

Fullerton knows it has a pair of good hands in Palamara, who is averaging seven catches a game, sixth-highest in the country among Division I players. The Titan makes good use of him in a short passing game, emphasizing getting the ball to him, particularly on crucial downs.

“If it’s third and eight, we want to get the ball to (running back Mike) Pringle, or get the ball to Rocky,” Chaney said.

When the situation is critical, or when quarterback Dan Speltz is pressured, one can almost sense the moment he begins to look desperately for Palamara.

Speltz and Palamara first met as freshmen walk-ons at UCLA before Speltz went on to El Camino College and Palamara to Glendale. Now they are roommates, along with reserve receiver Todd Baird.

Of Speltz’s 102 completions this season, 35 have been to Palamara, who is averaging 15.6 yards per catch. Last season, 39% of Speltz’s completions were to Palamara.

“We never say, ‘Throw the ball to Rocky,’ ” Chaney said. “But sometimes just subconsciously I think he looks for him.”

Palamara’s good hands are one of the reasons he has had such success. He holds onto the routine catches and occasionally handles the spectacular. But in the season opener against Northern Illinois, he dropped a couple in a game he called the worst he ever played.

“I even got low esteem about myself after that,” Palamara said. “And that’s relatively hard for me to do.”

Some of his more memorable catches came last season, when he pulled in several passes one-handed, making spectacular receptions that would otherwise have been incompletions.

Were the coaches impressed?

“They said, ‘Use two hands,’ ” Palamara said.

His hands have earned him other responsibilities on the team as well. Palamara is also the holder on field goals and PATs, and the designated punt receiver in dangerous situations deep in Titan territory.

Receiver, not returner, is the correct word. Palamara’s job is simply to catch the ball and down it.

“I’d like to return them,” Palamara said. “They (coaches) won’t let me.”

Before he is done, Palamara will have a long list of memorable catches. For now, one of his favorites came against Utah State last season. Palamara caught a pass on the sidelines, and had two Aggies in front of him.

“I put a move on these two (defensive backs),” Palamara said. “Two guys! It was a big thing. We must have watched it on film a hundred times.”

Another to remember was the 59-yard touchdown pass play Saturday.

“I thought about diving for it, but I stayed up,” Palamara said.

And then he ran it in.

“Turned on those jets,” he said.