Temple University Athletics
C John Palumbo
John Palumbo: Adjusting to Constant Change
10.16.11 | Football
Gameday Feature Story
by Cathy Bongiovi, Athletic Communications
Center John Palumbo has had to roll with the punches his entire life. As a baby, his parents divorced. In high school he switched schools for his senior year, and at Temple, he has had to adjust to a new coaching staff as a senior.
Growing up in Northern New Jersey with his mother, Palumbo was introduced to football in the fourth grade by his older brother Robert.
“I always looked up to him,” Palumbo said. “He and my dad kind of pushed me to play. My mom didn't want me to play too much, but we ended up being able to convince her. I fell in the love with the sport since then.”
A graduate of Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J., Palumbo was a 2005 Associated Press third-team All-State and first-team News Herald All-Area selection at offensive tackle. The Rivals' postseason New Jersey Top 50 selection did not allow a sack and had 50 pancake blocks as senior. He also made 36 tackles and six sacks at defensive tackle. A first-team All-Bergen County Scholastic League selection, he helped the team to the BCSL American title and Non-Public Group II title game. He was also a double-figure scorer on the basketball team, playing small forward.
But all of those accomplishments came his senior year. Palumbo attended Pascack Hills High School his freshman through junior seasons.
“My mother got sick when I was a junior in high school,” he explained. “We thought it would be best if I moved in with my father, so I ended up switching high schools my senior year.”
Diagnosed with breast cancer, his mother Dawn DeCotiis Palumbo was in the midst of the battle of her life. But she wanted to make sure her youngest son was cared for.
“My father's always been a big part of my life, but I grew up with my mom, so you can say I was kind of a momma's boy,” Palumbo said. “I always followed my mom around, and I was really, really close with her. I grew up with her my entire life.”
Now everything was about to change.
“After she was diagnosed, it was a really, really difficult time in my life,” Palumbo shared. “She is the most special person to me and my biggest supporter. They say that mothers are always right, so she really was right about everything. She could tell if you were getting yourself into trouble before it happened. She always had the answers.”
Her struggle lasted from the end of his sophomore year of high school until his senior year.
“She had almost a two-year battle with it,” he continued. “My senior year she passed away. I was actually playing a high school football game, and I left at halftime and went to the hospital. She passed away that night. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. She is still a huge part of my life, and every decision I make I always think would my mom want me to do that; would that make her proud. That's how I try to instill my morals and how I try to go with the beliefs she taught me my entire life.”
Dealing with the loss of his mother and trying to adjust to life at a new high school, Palumbo excelled despite the adversity.
Recruited by several schools to play basketball, he finally decided to play football in college instead.
“Growing up, I loved basketball a lot. I always liked football, but I loved basketball,” he said. “That was what I really wanted to play. Then starting my junior year of high school, I started to get looks for football, and I felt I had a chance to excel at the Division I level where as in basketball I was getting Division II and Division III looks. So, I ended up putting on a ton of weight, and here I am now.”
Palumbo credits the former coaching staff as a deciding factor in his selection of Temple.
“They pretty much just sold me on a vision about where they wanted to take the program, and I bought into it,” he said.
Palumbo suffered an injury in an All-Star game after his senior season and spent the fall of 2006 rehabbing the injury. He enrolled at Temple as a true freshman in January of 2007, a semester later than anticipated.
After redshirting as a true freshman, Palumbo has made the most of his time on the North Broad Street campus. A four-year starter, he started out at right guard and has been the Owls' starting center since 2009.
As a fifth-year senior this fall, Palumbo was elected as one of four team captains, and the only one from the offense.
“Being picked captain is obviously a great honor,” he said. “But I think the coolest thing for me is that it was voted on by the players. So that means that I have respect from my peers and the guys I play with, my really good friends.”
Palumbo's teammates on the offensive line rely on him for leadership.
“He is someone you can look up to like a big brother figure,” said fellow senior Wayne Tribue. “He knows a lot; he's been around football for a long time, so he can share a lot of information with the younger guys.”
“Since I came here, John's shown me that you need to be very confident about what you do,” said junior Martin Wallace. “People will come around you, and they will ask you for advice. You have the opportunity to lead. John takes that opportunity.”
“Playing center is the most important position on the o-line. He gives us a great, positive start, so we can run the ball,” said senior Derek Dennis.
“We just feed off of each other. That's how we play,” said Jeremy Schonbrunner, who backs up Palumbo at the center position. “We're a team; he's our captain; he's the center of attack.”
Along with his teammates, Palumbo's also had to adjust to a new coaching staff for his final season in the Cherry and White.
“When Coach Addazio was picked for the job, the second I met him, I pretty much fell in love with the guy,” Palumbo said. “He's an awesome guy. I really related to him. The first meeting I had with him was an hour long meeting. It was like we knew each other for more than just those five minutes. We related to each other; we're both Italian-Americans. Since then, it's been a really easy transition.”
A 2011 preseason third-team All-MAC selection by Phil Steele's College Football, Palumbo graduated in December 2010 with a degree in criminal justice. Once his football career is over, he wants to join the family business.
“I want to go to law school. I want to become a lawyer,” he revealed. “My whole mother's side (of the family) works at the same firm, my grandfather's law firm. I want to someday take over the firm and be the next one in line to take over the legacy. It's funny, because it's my mom side, so they're all DeCotiises, so I'd be the first Palumbo to be a part of the firm. That would be pretty cool.”
Until then, Palumbo and the Owls have plenty of work ahead. And for the center, he'll continue to roll with the punches.
Center John Palumbo has had to roll with the punches his entire life. As a baby, his parents divorced. In high school he switched schools for his senior year, and at Temple, he has had to adjust to a new coaching staff as a senior.
Growing up in Northern New Jersey with his mother, Palumbo was introduced to football in the fourth grade by his older brother Robert.
“I always looked up to him,” Palumbo said. “He and my dad kind of pushed me to play. My mom didn't want me to play too much, but we ended up being able to convince her. I fell in the love with the sport since then.”
A graduate of Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, N.J., Palumbo was a 2005 Associated Press third-team All-State and first-team News Herald All-Area selection at offensive tackle. The Rivals' postseason New Jersey Top 50 selection did not allow a sack and had 50 pancake blocks as senior. He also made 36 tackles and six sacks at defensive tackle. A first-team All-Bergen County Scholastic League selection, he helped the team to the BCSL American title and Non-Public Group II title game. He was also a double-figure scorer on the basketball team, playing small forward.
But all of those accomplishments came his senior year. Palumbo attended Pascack Hills High School his freshman through junior seasons.
“My mother got sick when I was a junior in high school,” he explained. “We thought it would be best if I moved in with my father, so I ended up switching high schools my senior year.”
Diagnosed with breast cancer, his mother Dawn DeCotiis Palumbo was in the midst of the battle of her life. But she wanted to make sure her youngest son was cared for.
“My father's always been a big part of my life, but I grew up with my mom, so you can say I was kind of a momma's boy,” Palumbo said. “I always followed my mom around, and I was really, really close with her. I grew up with her my entire life.”
Now everything was about to change.
“After she was diagnosed, it was a really, really difficult time in my life,” Palumbo shared. “She is the most special person to me and my biggest supporter. They say that mothers are always right, so she really was right about everything. She could tell if you were getting yourself into trouble before it happened. She always had the answers.”
Her struggle lasted from the end of his sophomore year of high school until his senior year.
“She had almost a two-year battle with it,” he continued. “My senior year she passed away. I was actually playing a high school football game, and I left at halftime and went to the hospital. She passed away that night. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her. She is still a huge part of my life, and every decision I make I always think would my mom want me to do that; would that make her proud. That's how I try to instill my morals and how I try to go with the beliefs she taught me my entire life.”
Dealing with the loss of his mother and trying to adjust to life at a new high school, Palumbo excelled despite the adversity.
Recruited by several schools to play basketball, he finally decided to play football in college instead.
“Growing up, I loved basketball a lot. I always liked football, but I loved basketball,” he said. “That was what I really wanted to play. Then starting my junior year of high school, I started to get looks for football, and I felt I had a chance to excel at the Division I level where as in basketball I was getting Division II and Division III looks. So, I ended up putting on a ton of weight, and here I am now.”
Palumbo credits the former coaching staff as a deciding factor in his selection of Temple.
“They pretty much just sold me on a vision about where they wanted to take the program, and I bought into it,” he said.
Palumbo suffered an injury in an All-Star game after his senior season and spent the fall of 2006 rehabbing the injury. He enrolled at Temple as a true freshman in January of 2007, a semester later than anticipated.
After redshirting as a true freshman, Palumbo has made the most of his time on the North Broad Street campus. A four-year starter, he started out at right guard and has been the Owls' starting center since 2009.
As a fifth-year senior this fall, Palumbo was elected as one of four team captains, and the only one from the offense.
“Being picked captain is obviously a great honor,” he said. “But I think the coolest thing for me is that it was voted on by the players. So that means that I have respect from my peers and the guys I play with, my really good friends.”
Palumbo's teammates on the offensive line rely on him for leadership.
“He is someone you can look up to like a big brother figure,” said fellow senior Wayne Tribue. “He knows a lot; he's been around football for a long time, so he can share a lot of information with the younger guys.”
“Since I came here, John's shown me that you need to be very confident about what you do,” said junior Martin Wallace. “People will come around you, and they will ask you for advice. You have the opportunity to lead. John takes that opportunity.”
“Playing center is the most important position on the o-line. He gives us a great, positive start, so we can run the ball,” said senior Derek Dennis.
“We just feed off of each other. That's how we play,” said Jeremy Schonbrunner, who backs up Palumbo at the center position. “We're a team; he's our captain; he's the center of attack.”
Along with his teammates, Palumbo's also had to adjust to a new coaching staff for his final season in the Cherry and White.
“When Coach Addazio was picked for the job, the second I met him, I pretty much fell in love with the guy,” Palumbo said. “He's an awesome guy. I really related to him. The first meeting I had with him was an hour long meeting. It was like we knew each other for more than just those five minutes. We related to each other; we're both Italian-Americans. Since then, it's been a really easy transition.”
A 2011 preseason third-team All-MAC selection by Phil Steele's College Football, Palumbo graduated in December 2010 with a degree in criminal justice. Once his football career is over, he wants to join the family business.
“I want to go to law school. I want to become a lawyer,” he revealed. “My whole mother's side (of the family) works at the same firm, my grandfather's law firm. I want to someday take over the firm and be the next one in line to take over the legacy. It's funny, because it's my mom side, so they're all DeCotiises, so I'd be the first Palumbo to be a part of the firm. That would be pretty cool.”
Until then, Palumbo and the Owls have plenty of work ahead. And for the center, he'll continue to roll with the punches.
Temple Men's Basketball 2025-26 All Access | Game 12 at Davidson 12.18.2025
Sunday, December 21
Ep. 29: Last Episode of First Semester from David & Amelia
Wednesday, December 17
MBB Press Conference vs. Saint Francis (Adam Fisher)
Sunday, December 14
MBB Press Conference vs. Saint Francis (Derrian Ford & Gavin Griffiths)
Sunday, December 14
