Spurrier: Gators QB Job Is Palmer's

Florida quarterback Jesse Palmer did nothing to lose his starting job in his performance against Citadel, and coach Steve Spurrier says he doesn't anticipate making a change anytime soon.

The sophomore went 28-for-38 for 304 yards and four touchdowns in No. 3 Florida's 49-10 victory Saturday.

With junior Doug Johnson slated to return from shoulder surgery for this week's game against Northeast Louisiana, many thought a battle would ensue for the starting position, but Spurrier said that wasn't the case.

"We will go into this game about like we've gone into every game since I've been here," Spurrier said Sunday. "We've got a starting quarterback, Jesse Palmer, and it's his ballgame to start it out. We'll see how the score goes, we'll see what happens. If Doug is healthy, he'll be the next guy to go to when the situation comes up."

Through most of the preseason, Spurrier indicated the starting position would be up for grabs, with a final decision to be made before the Sept. 19 game at Tennessee.

But the coach said when he named Palmer the starter last week for the Citadel game, he didn't anticipate changing his mind.

"I don't know why I have to keep saying it, Jesse's our quarterback now," he said. "Unless there comes a time where we need to make a change, Jesse's our starting quarterback."

Of course, last year's experience would lead anyone to wonder how permanent a move this will be.

Spurrier named Johnson his starter last year, but went through a series of changes. He started Palmer once after suspending Johnson for one game for missing curfew. Noah Brindise started the final three games of the season. Brindise and Johnson rotated on a play-by-play basis in Florida's 32-29 victory over Floria State.

Asked why he thinks he keeps fielding questions on the subject this season, the coach replied: "I don't know, it's something to talk about, part of what people like to read. Who's going to be the quarterback? Is the coach going to get fired?"

Spurrier and Palmer both conceded the opening-day performance was far from perfect. Palmer threw one interception, lost one of two fumbled snaps and threw at least three passes receivers had to bat down to prevent interceptions.

But there were also some nice throws, especially the first touchdown pass, a 32-yarder to Darrell Jackson in the perfect spot in the corner of the end zone.

"I'm going to need to play better as the season progresses," Palmer said. "I'm going to have to work this week in practice to try to get better, to try to fix some of the mistakes I made today."

That theme was true not just for the quarterback, but for the entire team, especially the defense, which didn't force a turnover and let Citadel hold the ball for nearly 37 minutes.

"For the talent Citadel had compared to our talent, they probably outplayed us, outhustled us and outhit us," Spurrier said. "Our players play for the mighty Gators and they think that makes them great players. Our coaches have got to tell them they're not. We've got to show them there's still room to improve."

Florida suffered only one significant injury. Center Corey Yarbrough went out with a sprained left knee on the first series. He is expected to be out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

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