David Palmer Highlights. WOW, what a player

TiderJack

Hall of Fame
Jul 9, 2010
12,399
6,667
187
Inverness, AL
His athleticism back then is still on par with what we see today from the great athletes.
Agreed. He made players look foolish trying to tackle him. His HS highlights are even more ridiculous.

We should have lost to Tennessee in '95 but Stallings put Deuce in at QB and he led us to a last minute TD and 2 pt conversion with amazing plays that only he could do to tie the game. Only tied game I was happy about and kept our non-losing streak against UT alive
 

bamamc1

Hall of Fame
Oct 24, 2011
5,454
4,058
187
Haleyville, AL
Agreed. He made players look foolish trying to tackle him. His HS highlights are even more ridiculous.

We should have lost to Tennessee in '95 but Stallings put Deuce in at QB and he led us to a last minute TD and 2 pt conversion with amazing plays that only he could do to tie the game. Only tied game I was happy about and kept our non-losing streak against UT alive
And he was under center on the 2 point play. He would have been hard to handle out of the gun.
 
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UAllday

3rd Team
Jan 17, 2018
224
42
52
Watching that tape I saw Devonte Smith. Not the biggest or fastest but so smooth and effortless. They don't telegraph what move they are going to do. Lol at the belly flop attempted tackles.
 

BamaMoon

Hall of Fame
Apr 1, 2004
21,291
16,889
282
Boone, NC
Incredible player! He's one of only a handful of players (thinking of guys like Tua and Smitty) that you expected something special every time they touched the ball!

The Duece didn't have burner speed but he had incredible vision and when he made a cut into a hole it's like he hit another gear!

One thing I guess I forgot is after a big play or TD he finger-rolled the ball off his right hand. Every time!

And one more thing: thank goodness we don't have Jefferson Pilot cameras anymore!!!
 

tusks_n_raider

Hall of Fame
May 13, 2009
12,278
12,746
187
Mobile, AL
He was SO Slippery man.

His Vision was incredible and he just made super quick cuts.

He was also very good at adjusting his speed to set up blocks and keep racking up extra yardage.

I’ve always wondered how eye popping his stats would be if he had played in a more modern passing offense.

If he had come back in ‘94 he might have won the Heisman with the Sr version of Barker throwing to him.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
36,331
31,074
187
Beautiful Cullman, AL
He was actually a decent QB. If I recall correctly, he was only about 5'9". If he were a couple inches taller, he may have stuck at QB. In today's game, he probably would have had an even better chance.

He had a good pro career with Minnesota too. I agree we probably win the NC in 1994 with him, or at least go 13-0. Nebraska was going to win that NC because of Osborne. We would not have gotten a chance to face them. They were obligated to the Orange, us the Sugar.
 

gtgilbert

All-American
Aug 12, 2011
3,261
4,313
187
Deuce was amazing. It was like trying to tackle water with him. He'd just get through somehow, some way. Playing on punt and kick coverage teams against him in HS was stressful to say the least...

His measurables were never great - 5'9" was generous, so was 170. In a track sprint, he wouldn't put up a great time - he wasn't slow, but lots of guys timed faster - I'd doubt he was top 10 on the bama teams he played on. He wasn't going to overpower anyone with strength. Throwing he never seemed to have the strongest arm or the fastest release.

Then he put on the pads and transformed. He'd see seams no one else could see, and his body control to get to the seam was like he was in the matrix. When called on to throw, somehow, more often than not, it just worked and, he got the ball where it was supposed to go - never enough to truly be 'the' QB, but as a change of pace thing was pretty good, especially for a guy who didn't really spend a lot of time working on that skillset.
 

Tideflyer

Hall of Fame
Dec 14, 2011
7,877
3,990
187
Savannah, GA
He was SO Slippery man.

His Vision was incredible and he just made super quick cuts.

He was also very good at adjusting his speed to set up blocks and keep racking up extra yardage.

I’ve always wondered how eye popping his stats would be if he had played in a more modern passing offense.

If he had come back in ‘94 he might have won the Heisman with the Sr version of Barker throwing to him.
Got to be in the top 4 or 5 most dynamic offensive players in Alabama history.