Mercer lands first-team All-MIAA running back Zahmari Palode-Gary

Mercer added a runner who already had a track record of changing games at the line of scrimmage. Zahmari Palode-Gary committed to the Bears on Sunday after a weekend official visit, giving Mercer a first-team All-MIAA back whose production at Pittsburg State suggested he can step into a meaningful role quickly.

Palode-Gary was one of the most accomplished backs in Division II this fall. Pittsburg State officially named the Kansas City, Missouri, native a first-team All-MIAA selection on Nov. 18 after he led the league in rushing at 84.3 yards per game. He finished with 135 carries for 843 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games, while adding seven receptions for 65 yards. At 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds, he brought a compact frame and a proven workload profile to a Mercer backfield that was looking for experience, not just upside.

That is what made this portal win more than a routine addition. Palode-Gary had a long list of suitors, with Houston Christian, UTEP, Southern Utah, North Alabama, Gardner-Webb, Central Connecticut State, Norfolk State and Mercer all in the mix. He entered the portal on Dec. 1, which meant Mercer had to hold its ground through a months-long recruitment rather than a quick spring flip. The deciding factors, Palode-Gary said in effect, were the people around the program, the culture in Macon and the chance to challenge himself at a higher level while competing for a real role.

Jordan Marshall was central to that pitch. Mercer’s running backs coach, a Bears alum who played wide receiver from 2012-16, built his reputation in another stint on the staff after coaching running backs at Anderson and Methodist. That background gave Mercer a direct connection point and helped the Bears separate themselves in a crowded chase for a back who had already proven he could carry an offense for stretches.

The move also fits Mercer’s broader arc. The Bears reached the FCS playoffs for the first time in 2023 and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2024, which has raised the standard around the program and changed the kind of players it can target. The 2026 schedule includes a Sept. 12 trip to Georgia Tech and a Nov. 21 home game against East Tennessee State, another reminder that Mercer is building for the kind of fall where one back can matter in both conference positioning and national perception.

Palode-Gary is leaving a Pittsburg State program that went 10-3, shared the MIAA title and lost 37-21 at Harding in the NCAA Division II second round. The Gorillas won at least a share of their third conference title in four seasons and their 15th since joining the MIAA in 1989. That pedigree made Palode-Gary one of the more finished backs available, and Mercer bet that his production can translate immediately into a bigger FCS stage.