GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Gators quarterback Jesse Palmer played a part in one of the Gators' biggest wins at Tennessee.
Fourteen years ago at Neyland Stadium in a clash between the No. 6 Gators and No. 11 Volunteers, Palmer led Florida on a 91-yard scoring drive with 2:14 left.
One play after a touchdown pass to Reche Caldwell was negated by a penalty for an illegal man downfield, Palmer threw the go-ahead touchdown to Jabar Gaffney with 14 seconds left in a 27-23 victory. The game turned out to be former Gators coach Steve Spurrier's last in Knoxville during his 12-year stint at UF.
It was also Palmer's final game on Rocky Top with the Gators.
However, Palmer will be back at Neyland Stadium on Saturday when the Gators face the Volunteers. Palmer is in his first season working alongside play-by-play veteran Brent Musburger as the lead analyst for the SEC Network.
Palmer is no stranger to the broadcast booth, having served as a college football analyst at ESPN since 2007. Palmer is also returning to reality TV.
After a brief NFL career with the New York Giants, Palmer starred on “The Bachelor” in 2004. He is making a return to reality TV this week as host of Food Network's “Food Truck Face Off,” which premiers at 8 p.m. Thursday.
“This is obviously a completely different genre versus what I did in 2004,” Palmer told The New York Post. “There's a lot of heat in this show — but it's confined to the kitchen.”
Earlier this month when the Gators hosted Kentucky, Palmer called his first Gators game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium since he finished college.
If you're not into reality TV, you can check out Palmer's work in that memorable win over the Vols in 2000:
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WELCOME TO THE GRIND
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil are less than two years away.
If everything goes as expected from now until then, one of the most prominent storylines leading up to the Games will be the head-to-head battles between U.S. Swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
A former UF All-American, Lochte was one of the stars at the 2012 London Games and is gearing up to make another run at challenging Phelps.
An inspirational video online featuring both Phelps and Lochte has garnered nearly 2 million views on YouTube.com and continues to make the rounds on social media.
Think of late NFL Films broadcaster John Facenda narrating a Phelps-Lochte showdown as you watch the video:
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ROSS TO SERVE AS ESPN ANALYST
Former Gators catcher David Ross will always have a good story to tell from Sunday's regular-season finale at Fenway Park.
In his second season with Boston, Ross asked Red Sox manager John Farrell if he could play in what could be his final game with the Red Sox. Farrell obliged, and Ross was behind the plate for what turned out to be the last at-bat in the career of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Jeter closed his 20-year run in the majors with an RBI infield single in the third inning of New York's 9-5 win. It was the 12,602nd career plate appearance -- and final one -- for Jeter, who was replaced by pinch-runner Brian McCann.
Jeter was then given a lengthy standing ovation from the Boston crowd as he returned to the dugout. Ross, who gained notoriety during the World Series last season for his beard and insightful interviews, left the game in the seventh inning.
The 38-year-old Ross, who wants to play one more season before retiring, will remain in New England for a few more weeks. According to The Boston Globe, Ross has been hired by ESPN to be part of its postseason coverage and will spend 15 days in Bristol, Conn., offering analysis of the playoffs.
“We had such a good experience last season winning the way we did,” Ross told the newspaper. “Hopefully I can speak to that and what the teams now will be going through.”
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ZUNINO'S CLOSE CALL
Speaking of former UF catchers, Mike Zunino (photo, left, with teammate Felix Hernandez) completed his first full season in the big leagues Sunday. A first-round pick in the 2012 MLB amateur draft, Zunino was behind the plate for Seattle's win over the Angels as the Mariners missed out on their bid at the postseason by one game.
Seattle finished 87-75, a game behind Oakland for second in the American League West. As for Zunino, he played in 131 games and finished with 20 doubles, 22 home runs and 60 RBIs. A solid defensive catcher, Zunino wants to improve his plate performance.
He hit just .199 with 158 strikeouts in 438 at-bats. Zunino gained a better understanding of how important each at-bat and each game can be during a 162-game major-league season.
“You hear people say all the time, it comes down to one game sometimes,'' Zunino told The Seattle Times. “You don't believe it until it actually happens. This gives a lesson to everybody. It's definitely something we're going to keep in mind next year. Every game, no matter how small it seems, is going to affect the long run.”
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DAYS GONE BY
As the Gators prepare for an important SEC East showdown at Tennessee on Saturday, this past weekend served as a reminder of how transient college football has become.
Three years ago Charlie Weis was Florida's offensive coordinator in Will Muschamp's first season and Jacoby Brissett was about to become the first true freshman quarterback in UF history to start in his first career appearance.
Weis left after the 2011 season to become head coach at Kansas and Brissett transferred to N.C. State following the 2012 season after serving as Jeff Driskel's backup.
Fast forward three years and Weis was fired Sunday after going 6-22 in two-plus seasons. Meanwhile, Brissett played well in the Wolfpack's loss to No. 1-ranked Florida State on Saturday and made a highlight-reel play by avoiding a sack and throwing a touchdown in the first quarter.
FSU quarterback Jameis Winston, who watched from the sidelines in 2012 as Driskel led the Gators to a road win at Doak Campbell Stadium, has not forgotten Brissett's connection to the Gators.
