Returning Player Profile: Josh Palmer

PLAYER PROFILE: Joshua Palmer

Position: Wide Receiver

Jersey Number: 5

Class: Senior

Height: 6’2

Weight: 200

Major: Business Finance & Marketing

Hometown: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas

AS A RECRUIT (class of 2017)

Palmer flew under the radar for most of his high school playing career, spending 3 seasons playing football in Canada. As a senior, he transferred to national high school powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He finished high school ranked by the 247sports composite as a 3-Star recruit, listed

as the 836 ranked player nationally, the 121st best receiver and then 115th best player in Florida. He was also ranked as a 5.7 3-Star on rivals and the 179th best receiver in the nation per ESPN. Despite the low ranking, he blew up with offers late in his high school career, holding offers from schools such as UCLA, Michigan, Penn State, NC State and Nebraska. He was also garnering interest from Ohio State and USC. Palmer committed to Tennessee on June 1st, 2017 and was a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class.

CAREER

Palmer began his Tennessee career as a rotation guy, but saw more playing time as his freshman season progressed due to a pile up of injuries that included star receiver Jauan Jennings. As a freshman, he totaled 9 receptions for 98 yards but did not score a TD. He saw his receiving totals rise in his sophomore campaign as he was now listed as a starter in the slot, taking the role as the number 3 option at wideout. As a sophomore, Palmer had 23 receptions for 484 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as 5 rushes for 27 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His junior year saw similar numbers as the entire starting WR core returned for that year. As a junior,  he totaled 34 receptions for 457 yards and 1 receiving TD. He also had his best career game in a dominating air attack performance at Missouri, totaling 6 catches for 124 yards in a 24-20 victory that saw he, Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway all go for over 100 receiving yards in the same game. Palmer decided to return for his senior year, and is expected to be the number 1 wide receiver on the depth chart, as well as a go to target and potential NFL draft prospect.

CAREER TOTALS:

Receptions: 66

Receiving yards: 1039

Yards per catch: 15.7

Receiving TDs: 3

Rushes: 8

Rush yards: 37

Rush TDs: 1

Yards per carry: 4.6

Longest career play: 53 yards