Now that Florida junior quarterback Doug Johnson is out
indefinitely, the Gators are down to sophomore Jesse Palmer and
a prayer. Johnson, who had been preparing to report to the Devil
Rays next week for minor league assignment as a third baseman,
learned last week that he had a small cyst on his right
shoulder. Surgery to remove the cyst in addition to
rehabilitation apparently would keep him off baseball and
football fields this year.
Palmer, who is from Nepean, Ont., showed potential last fall,
but more often than not he looked like a freshman playing
American football for the first time. In his one start, at
Auburn—which he got only because Johnson had been suspended for
breaking curfew—Palmer completed 8 of 14 passes for 92 yards
and two interceptions. Spurrier relied on Johnson and senior
walk-on Noah Brindise the rest of the season.
Now Palmer is virtually Spurrier's only option. Redshirt
freshman Tim Olmstead completed just 4 of 19 passes in the
spring game, and Florida didn't sign any other quarterbacks this
off-season. Palmer went 14 of 30 for 174 yards, three touchdowns
and no interceptions in that game, but it appears that the
Gators' veteran defense will test that old bromide that defense
wins championships.
Issue date: May 4, 1998
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