University Southern California Trojans
A Look At Carson Palmer
August 21, 2000 | Football
By Paul Goldberg
Assistant Sports Information Director
Quarterback
6-5, 220, Sophomore (RS)
Laguna Niguel, Calif. (Santa Margarita HS)
USC sophomore quarterback Carson Palmer has all of the arm you could ever ask for in a quarterback. He has the size and mobility, too.
And thanks to Oregon rover Michael Fletcher, Palmer has a nicely repaired right collarbone and a new-found perspective that he didn't have this time a year ago.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Palmer entered the 1999 season with high expectations. He played in all 13 games as a true freshman in 1998, starting the last five, and completed 130-of-235 passes (55.3%) for 1,755 yards and seven touchdowns.
Troy opened 1999 at 2-0. Palmer headed into Game Three at Oregon as a hot quarterback on a promising team but left with his shoulder in a sling.
That was courtesy of Fletcher.
On the second to last play of the first half against the Ducks, Palmer dropped back to pass but was forced to scramble. He ran for a three-yard gain, earning the last few inches as he lowered his shoulder into the oncoming Fletcher.
And that was the season for Palmer.
His right collarbone shattered on the play, forcing Palmer, off to such a great start, to miss the rest of the year.
"I didn't want to believe what happened," Palmer said. "I couldn't believe what had happened. Believe that my season was over? No way. Believe that I wasn't going to play against UCLA? No way."
In 10 quarters of play in 1999, Palmer completed 39-of-53 passes (73.6%) for 490 yards and three touchdowns. He received a medical redshirt after sitting out USC's final nine games.
For the first time in his football life, Palmer saw the game from a different angle.
"I'll tell you what," he said. "Sitting out for as long as I did gave me a new perspective on football. It made me realize you can't take it for granted. You can't just come out here and go through the motions. Sitting on the sidelines all that time made me understand that you have to use every day in practice to get better.
"I used to complain about doing certain drills in practice. I wouldn't always look forward to doing the hard work. When football was taken away from me, I learned something. I learned that football means everything to me. I learned that I missed every practice, every drill. I missed hurting from working my hardest."
Palmer finally got his chance to don his pads and helmet again during USC's 2000 spring practice.
"I felt like a rookie," said Palmer about his first few outings in the spring. "I felt clumsy. I felt goofy. I hadn't felt like that in a long time."
Sophomore wide receiver Kareem Kelly, the 1999 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, reflected on Carson's first day back at practice. The first thing Kelly noticed wasn't the zip on Palmer's passes or the tight spirals. It was the sight of Palmer sprinting from USC's athletic building, Heritage Hall, to the practice field.
"You could tell right away how bad Carson wanted to come back," Kelly said, "because usually Carson would just be walking to practice."
Among all of the passing exercises Palmer worked on in the spring was a less glamorous but equally important drill: sliding. That drill won't win a game, but for USC, it may save a season.
"Quarterback is about leadership," USC Coach Paul Hackett said. "And leadership means being healthy."
Said USC offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson: "I noticed two things about Carson in the spring. He matured and he has a burning desire to show everyone he's the player we all think he is."
It's an accurate assessment.
Said Palmer: "I was so excited about last season. I realized how hard I had worked and I couldn't wait to see what would happen. Then in one instant it was gone."
Palmer has almost come full circle and he can't wait to go all the way.
"All I know," Palmer said, "is I've never been so anxious for a season to start."
