Jesse Palmer has emerged as one of ESPN's brightest young stars.
Armed with a new long-term contract extension, the former Gators quarterback is shifting to college football studio coverage with Adnan Virk and Joey Galloway on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays. The 38-year old Palmer previously called games with legendary play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger on the SEC Network.
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Like Charissa Thompson, Michael Strahan and Michelle Beadle, Palmer is one of the few TV sports types to successfully branch out into entertainment reporting. He's a special contributor for sister Disney network's "Good Morning America."
The Toronto native (one of the few Canadians to play quarterback in the NFL) just landed a new deal to host "DailyMailTV" in New York. Non-sports fans will remember him as the first pro athlete to star on ABC's "The Bachelor" in 2004.
With college football season finally here, Sporting News' Michael McCarthy interviewed Palmer about the biggest storylines in college football, his negotiations with rival Fox Sports and whether Tony Romo — like Jay Cutler — will eventually return to the NFL. Excerpts:
SPORTING NEWS: What are your thoughts on new college football season?
JESSE PALMER: Right out of the gate there’s so many games with college football playoff implications. In Week 1, there’s Alabama-Florida State. In Week 2, its Ohio State-Oklahoma, Stanford-USC. There’s just a bunch across the board. But there’s also a lot of big questions marks across the board. If you look at all the big picture topic, as well as the Heisman ranks, it’s just really, really exciting. I just love that in college football, we get these big nonconference matches early. It’s exciting for everybody. It’s exciting for the fans and the players as well.
SN: What schools do you like this season?
JP: Alabama out of the SEC. Big question mark for them, I think, is what the offense looks like under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and the maturation of second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts. Out of the ACC I like Florida State, with their second-year quarterback Deondre Francois who I think will be a Heisman candidate. Ohio State in the Big Ten. Of course, they have a new offensive coordinator in Kevin Wilson, the former Indiana head coach. So we’ll see what that offense looks like. Pac-12 I like USC. Sam Darold? A lot of people think he’ll be the first pick in the NFL Draft. The most wide-open power conference is the Big 12. With Bob Stoops stepping down this offseason, this has a lot of impact on the rest of the conference. A lot of people think Oklahoma State could be a dark horse team this year. And I think, with their new head coach Tom Herman, Texas could be a surprise team after missing bowl games the last two years. Of course, the Big 12 has a new conference championship game this year. A lot of people are wondering if that will help or hurt their chances of getting into the College Football Playoff. They’ve only had one team play in the College Football Playoff in the last three years. That was Oklahoma two seasons ago. It will be really interesting to watch across all that.
SN: You didn’t mention one team: the national champion Clemson Tigers?
JP: That’s a really interesting story too. A lot of people are interested in watching the impact on offense without Deshaun Watson. Kelly Bryant has been named the starter. He’s very talented, very athletic. Clemson is going to have a phenomenal defense again. They have a lot of weapons at wide receiver still and a deep running back corps. And an improved offensive line this season. There’s lot of people counting Clemson out because there is no Deshaun Watson. But I remember back in 1998, the year after Peyton Manning left Tennessee, a lot of people didn’t really give Tennessee a chance. There was a lesser-known Tee Martin playing quarterback. He ended up leading them to a national championship in 1998 the year after Peyton left. Clemson is still a team that will be very, very interesting to watch. Speaking of some of these great non-conference games early in the season, they’re going to host Auburn in Week 2. That will be really interesting to see.
SN: What about Notre Dame?
JP: I think Notre Dame is in for a bounce back season. Brian Kelly cleaned house with his coaching staff. He hired a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator and a new special teams coordinator. I think Notre Dame has the talent, certainly. Brian Kelly has done an excellent job recruiting. Last year, they finished 4-8. But they lost seven games by one possession or fewer. They were really, really close. They had some serious defensive struggles early in the season. They have a really intriguing new quarterback in Brandon Wimbush. I think he’s only a sophomore but they’ve been raving about him down at Notre Dame. They’ll play a really difficult schedule this year. But they’ll be improved on defensive. They have a new defensive coordinator from Wake Forest, Mike Elko, who I think is a really, really good defensive mind. If Wimbush can avoid mistakes early in the year, which would enable them to make plays and give them balance on offense, then I think Notre Dame could be one of the bigger bounce-back teams of 2017.
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SN: As an old Florida quarterback, what do you think of the Gators' crazy QB situation?
JP: It’s wide-open right now. (Coach James McElwain) said we could see three quarterbacks in their first game against Michigan. It’s interesting. You’ve kind of got three different guys. Feleipe Franks, who’s extremely gifted and talented, with great size and a tremendous arm. But obviously he’s very untested and probably the most raw. You’ve got the Notre Dame transfer Malik Zaire, who had some big game experience at Notre Dame before his injury. Then Luke Del Rio. I don’t think he’s as physically talented as the other two. But he’s extremely cerebral. I think the biggest issue the Florida Gators have had since 2009 is the uncertainty. They’ve lacked playmakers at the quarterback spot. Since Tim Tebow, they just really haven’t had a difference maker at that position. It looked like they were going to have that guy with Will Grier a few years ago before he was suspended and transferred to West Virginia. That is a major, major question mark for Florida. That’s been the most frustrating thing for a lot of Florida Gator fans. The lack of play-making ability, and the lack of stability, at that position.
SN: So do who do you like in SEC East?
JP: I like Georgia. I think they have the best running back situation in the country, with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. I think they are the best back combo in the entire country. I think they have a chance to be one of the best defenses in the SEC. I think they have 10 starters back from last year’s defense. They have a lot of athleticism, a lot of speed and a lot of depth on that defense. Kirby Smart is one of the best defensive minds in college football. Jacob Eason, in his second year, I think is big as well. He’s got a lot of ability. He can make all the throws. The two big question marks for Georgia are going to be the consistency on the offensive line to allow the running game to excel and to give Jacob some time. The second thing is somebody has to step up at wide receiver. That was a huge issue in this offense a season ago. They need consistent play makers to emerge for Jacob Eason in the passing game. Defenses are going to load the box and try to stop the run. You need people to win one-on-one outside. But especially with the uncertainty at quarterback at places like Florida and Tennessee, this is a prime season for Georgia to emerge.
SN: Congrats on your new deal with ESPN. We reported Fox Sports wanted to hire you as one of their top NFL game analysts. Were you tempted to jump ship?
JP: I was. The only way I could leave ESPN was for an NFL opportunity. That was at Fox. First off, I’ve had an incredible ten years at ESPN. I’ve very indebted to them because of the opportunities they’ve given me. I’ve been allowed to grow and stretch. That’s because of ESPN. Ultimately, college football is a huge passion of mine. In my opinion, I really feel ESPN owns college football. The only way I think I could have left ESPN was for an opportunity to call NFL games. That was the opportunity I had at Fox. I actually started my TV career at Fox, calling NFL games at the end of the 2006 and 2007 seasons. It was just such a good experience. I have a lot of former teammates and friends who work at Fox. Who love their experience there. Who have so many good things to say about Fox. But at the end of the day, I felt I wanted to stay with college football. There’s no better place to do that than ESPN.
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SN: You’re moving into the studio from calling games. Big change, no?
JP: I think so. The last three years I was only calling games. I had an opportunity to work with Brent Musburger these last three years. It was fantastic. During my 10 years at ESPN, I got a chance to do studio and call games. Actually, earlier in my career at ESPN, I was mostly doing studio. Getting the chance to go back and work with Adnan and Joey is going to be a lot of fun. Its an opportunity to touch on the big picture each and every week. Going back to the studio also allows me to focus on different daytime possibilities. Obviously with DailyMailTV, being in the studio enables me to stay in New York City throughout the week. To focus on that. From a travel perspective it will be a little less taxing. These last three years I was on the road five days a week calling two games. So I am excited for the change and the opportunity of going back into the studio.
SN: Jay Cutler was supposed to call NFL games for Fox — but he went back to the NFL. Talking about the temptation of returning to the game for QBs like Tony Romo of CBS?
JP: As players its always hard to leave the game when you’ve done something your entire life. To walk away from it, and move into the booth, especially when you believe you have the ability to keep playing? It’s tough to walk away. Jay Cutler is at this point in his career, and Tony Romo’s the same way, they don’t have too too many years left…TV can always be there when you’re done playing. You always have that opportunity when it’s finally, finally over. The clock eventually runs out as a player. The decision to retire is different for every athlete. It’s very, very difficult. Especially when you think you have something left?
SN: So what’s the over/under on Romo going back to Cowboys? Especially if Dak Prescott gets hurt?
JP: I don’t see Tony going back and playing. I think because of the injury issues he’s had the last few years, I think he’s going to stay in the booth and do a great job.
SN: But what about the pressure of going right into a No. 1 analyst job on the biggest games?
JP: That’s definitely was an advantage for my path. You got to take your bumps and bruises kind of away from the public eye if you will. With Tony being on the primetime games, there will be a lot of eyeballs watching him. But Tony’s a football nut. He’s a guy who will study, prepare and get better each and every week. He’s working with one of the best in the business. Jim Nantz will guide him along throughout the process. I’m really upset to watch Tony and watch him progress. He won’t be a Hall of Fame broadcaster in Week 1. But with his work ethic, and the team that surrounds him there, he has every chance to be successful.
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SN: You worked with two of the sports TV greats at ESPN: Brent and the late, great John Saunders. What did you learn from them?
JP: That’s a great question. First and foremost, both were humongous sports fans and fans of football. That’s an important thing. These guys didn’t just show up. It didn’t ever feel like a job working with either of those guys. They went into the booth excited for the day that was about to unfold. They just ate, breathed and slept college football. And sports in general. When you combine that with just how talented both are and were. It was just greatness. I always said as an analyst, a host or play-by-play guy can make you look better -- or worse. With those two guys, they made me look so much better than I am or was. Because they were just throwing up softballs the entire time. So much enthusiasm from them both. Obviously, they both prepared extremely well. But I just remember their passion for college football and sports. It was unrivaled. That showed up when they came to work every day. …
SN: When they came on the air, their voice, presence and aura screamed big event, didn't?
JP: Yes, they both had these voices. Not everybody has chops like that. It was something unique to them both.
SN: With the departure of classic play-by-play announcers like Brent, Vin Sculley and Verne Lundquist, are there any young voices coming up who can match them?
JP: I feel like with those names you just mentioned, they were all very unique. It’s hard to say. Like Al Michaels has a great voice. It’s hard for me to say. I worked with Chris Fowler for a few years. He’s fantastic. You know Dave Flemming, who I worked with on Thursdays, is carving out a niche for himself in baseball. But I think he has an opportunity to do that in college football too. He’s really, really good. I’m excited to watch him grow too.
SN: So will an NFL team sign Colin Kaepernick this season?
JP: I think one should. I don’t think it will happen because of the potential distraction issue.
SN: Word on the street is you’re into ‘food porn?’ Explain.
JP: Pictures of food. I’m a huge foodie. I’ve hosted shows on the Food Network. I love food. I love taking pictures of the food I eat and posting it on social media.
SN: So is the old "Bachelor" still single?
JP: Yes. Not married. I’m dating college football at the moment.
