University Southern California Trojans
USC Loses Starting Quarterback For 6-8 Weeks
September 26, 1999 | Football
Sept. 26, 1999
LOS ANGELES - USC sophomore starting quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a broken right collarbone during Saturday's (Sept. 25) triple overtime loss at Oregon and will be sidelined a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks, Trojan head coach Paul Hackett announced today.
The right-handed Palmer, who will wear a shoulder brace during the healing process, suffered the injury 2 plays before halftime when Duck rover Michael Fletcher knocked him out of bounds after a 3-yard scramble. Palmer stayed in for the half's final play, handing the ball off to tailback Chad Morton, then spent the second half on the sideline in street clothes with his right arm in a sling.
"Obviously, Carson Palmer's injury is a big blow to us," said Hackett, whose Trojans are 2-1 and host undefeated Oregon State this Saturday (Oct. 2) in the Coliseum. "He was just starting to come into his own, beginning to develop and show the improvement a young quarterback exhibits from Year One to Year Two. He'll be out for a number of weeks, so Mike Van Raaphorst will assume the starting role, with John Fox as the backup and Matt Dalton behind him. That's quite a shift in quarterbacks for us, but things like this give other players opportunities. Carson will mend fine and be ready to go at some point, whether the end of this year or the start of next year."
Palmer, who was 9-of-13 for 135 yards in the first half at Oregon, currently ranks seventh nationally in passing efficiency (158.6 points). On the year, he has completed 73.6% of his passes (39-of-53) for 490 yards and 3 touchdowns while starting USC's first 3 games. Already 13th on USC's career passing list with 169 completions, Palmer started USC's final 5 games last season (he played often as the backup in the first 8), becoming only the second Trojan first-year freshman to start at the position. In his career, he is 169-of-288 (58.7%) for 2,245 yards and 13 TDs.
Because he played in only 3 games this year, if he were to miss the rest of this season Palmer could medically redshirt this year and retain his sophomore eligibility in 2000.
Palmer was replaced at Oregon by Van Raaphorst, a junior who will continue as USC's starter until Palmer returns. Van Raaphorst turned in a heroic performance against the Ducks, completing 20-of-36 passes for 227 yards (all career highs) with a touchdown. He helped USC back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, only to see the Trojans lose, 33-30, in 3 overtimes. Van Raaphorst started USC's first 8 games of 1998 before Palmer took over and was 77-of-155 (49.7%) for 1,066 yards and 8 TDs overall. Van Raaphorst also started twice in 1997 after beating out Fox in mid-season until an ankle injury knocked him out for the year. In his career, Van Raaphorst is 118-of-247 (47.8%) for 1,594 yards and 10 TDs.
Fox, a senior, now will serve as Van Raaphorst's backup. Fox has been USC's utility man in 1999, serving as the holder on all placekicks, playing on kickoff and kick return teams, protecting the punter as the up man, seeing some action as a backup inside linebacker, and being the emergency quarterback. He will now give up most of those duties to concentrate on quarterback. He started 9 games in 1997, completing 153-of-280 passes (54.6%) for 1,940 yards and 12 scores. He didn't take a snap last year (he played some then as a reserve tight end and on special teams) and saw just brief action at quarterback in USC's opener at Hawaii this season, but did not throw a pass.
Dalton, a walk-on sophomore who has never taken a snap under center at USC but has played on special teams and has also been a reserve wide receiver, will be the No. 3 quarterback.
