Palmer continues to try to prove himself

So why would the nation's hottest college senior quarterback, the Heisman Trophy winner, for pete's sake, travel across the country to play in the Senior Bowl?

"Too great of an opportunity," said Palmer, without even flinching.

"Besides, it's fun to go out and compete with a lot of guys you watch on TV every Saturday."

So there.

On the heels of his breakthrough season at Southern California, where he led USC to an Orange Bowl rout of Iowa, Palmer is the first Heisman Trophy winner since Bo Jackson (1986, Auburn) to accept a Senior Bowl invitation.

"Really? I didn't know that," said Detroit Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg, who is coaching Palmer for the South squad in Saturday's 54th annual Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

"Am I?" said Palmer. "Wow."

OK, not every Heisman winner has made NFL scouts salivate. In fact, some previous winners made them cringe.

But it says something about this game ... and this player ... that he's passed up a trip to Maui (Hula Bowl), or a chance to stay in California (East-West Shrine Game) to go through a demanding week of practice and interviews.

"You don't need to do anything extra-special here," said Palmer, a four-year starter, who set eight USC records and finished as the fourth-highest passer (11,388 yards) in NCAA history. "You just need to go out and show off the talent you have, and hope teams like it."

Palmer is joined by the Texas slingers, lefty Chris Simms (Texas Longhorns) and Texas Tech's Kliff Klingsbury as the South team quarterbacks.

The North squad boasts Louisville's Dave Ragone, Iowa State's Seneca Wallace and California's Kyle Boller.

This may be the best collection of quarterback talent the Senior Bowl has enjoyed. Palmer, Simms and Boller could all be first-round NFL Draft picks in April.

Palmer, in fact, has a chance to unseat Marshall's Byron Leftwich, as the No. 1 pick. The woeful Cincinnati Bengals have the top pick, but it's unclear what the notoriously tight-money franchise will do with it.

That's not Palmer's concern. He just wants to impress this week.

In two practices, he's already shown plenty. He's as big (6-foot-5, 235 pounds) as advertised. He throws as fluidly as advertised. He's deftly handled a crash-course in the South's offense.

"All eyes are on him," said Mornhinweg. "He may impress the right coach, or the right GM (general manager) in one particular drill, or one particular day. That might help him get picked one pick quicker, which is very big, considering where he's going to get picked."

Years ago, many players of Palmer's stature, however, often viewed all-star games like a sly poker player. They held back.

"I remember (Texas star) Earl Campbell won the Heisman my year and he didn't come here," said James Lofton, the former All-Pro receiver, who just completed his rookie coaching season (wide receivers) with the San Diego Chargers.

Lofton played in the Senior Bowl in 1978. The former Stanford star parlayed the experience into being a first-round pick, No. 6 overall, by the Green Bay Packers.

"It's changed a lot, because I think for a lot of guys nowadays, they have to prove their talents," Lofton said. "You've got so many underclassmen who come out and go ahead of seniors.

"If you come here, and can move from, say, 30 to 10 in the draft (order), or 70 to 30, it's a lot of money. Back then, when I played, it was 'Senior Bowl? What's that?' Then you would say, 'OK, I'd love to go.' These kids now are getting primed for it when they leave high school."

Steve Hale, executive director of the Senior Bowl, whose staff has been credited with turning this game into an annual showcase of true NFL future stars, has seen an attitude change.

Agents are no longer trying to steer marquee players away from a week of intense scrutiny and practice demands.

"I think the agents see it as a business and they're seeing the positive benefits of their players coming here to compete," Hale said. "It's so competitive now on draft day. There's so many underclassmen coming in."

There's salary cap issues.

"So a player like Carson and others of his stature ... all they're doing is solidifying their future. That's what this has become."

Penn State running back Larry Johnson is another player in Palmer's stature. The Houston Texans are looking him over carefully. So are other teams.

Many times, a runner like Johnson would have skipped the Senior Bowl and made NFL teams evaluate him months later in a private setting.

Johnson, who leads the North squad, never hesitated to play.

"You want to get out here and practice hard and show the coaches you have something to offer," Johnson said. "I think to develop a relationship with the NFL coaches and scouts, it's the most important thing in going to the next level.

"Because in the other bowl games, you don't have that kind of connection, that kind of camaraderie around NFL coaches."

Johnson saw first-hand how last year's Senior Bowl enhanced Antwaan Randle El's future. The former Indiana quarterback was moved to receiver for the Senior Bowl and left scouts buzzing about his potential. The Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed him in the second-round, much higher than originally projected.

Also last year, Fresno State's David Carr had his value rise with each Senior Bowl practice. The Texans quickly sealed the deal to take him as the No. 1 overall pick.

"Being able to come here and watch the way he handled himself, that solidified the fact he was our guy," said Texans' coach Dom Capers, who is directing the North squad. "When you have the first pick in the draft, you want to be as sure as you possibly can that this is the guy you want to build your franchise around."

One team will choose that with Palmer. His value and performance perception has been on a zenith since August. Palmer entered this season with as many interceptions (39) as touchdown passes.

But he flourished with offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who was at North Carolina State in 2001, and a system that fit his skills.

"The big knock on me was I never won the big game," Palmer said. "I was the one quarterback who never took SC to the Rose Bowl."

Palmer, who graduated from the same California high school (Santa Margarita) as Florida State's Chris Rix, became USC's fifth Heisman winner.

He was a consensus All-American, after passing for 3,942 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The Senior Bowl sent him an invitation after the Trojans' season-opening win over Auburn. Palmer valued the honor.

"In college football, this is the game to play in," he said. "If you get invited to this game, it's much bigger than any of the other games."

Originally published Thursday, January 16, 2003