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Jesse Palmer

Jesse Palmer

Palmer a rarity: Canadian-trained QB becomes NFL starter

2005

For Nepean Ontario's Jesse Palmer, playing NFL football was more than just a dream -- it was a goal.

"If young Canadian football players believe that being Canadian is a disadvantage, they're not going to succeed," said Palmer, a quarterback with the New York Giants. "If you are from Canada, the bottom line is you have to work harder. You have to do more and you need to make more sacrifices."

Palmer, who has been touted as the best Canadian-born quarterback ever, made many sacrifices on the way to receiving a full athletic scholarship at the University of Florida.

"Being Canadian I had to focus all my effort on getting myself a scholarship. I really had to market myself. If I was going to compete with the American guys I was going to have to have a year-round focus," said Palmer, who quit playing baseball and basketball early in high school to concentrate his efforts on football.

Growing up in Nepean, Palmer was never far from football. His father Bill played six seasons as a linebacker in the Canadian Football League with Calgary, Hamilton and Ottawa.

"I've seen very little of my father on tape, but I remember the memorabilia he had, and he would take me to a CFL game every weekend in Ottawa," said Palmer. "My father has been a major influence in my career. We had a father-son relationship at home and a coach-player relationship on the field. It never crossed over, which I think is unique. I look at my father as my best friend and we still have a very close relationship."

As a teenager Palmer played with Myers Riders, a club team in the Ottawa area. It was with Myers that Palmer benefited from Canada's strong developmental system and began to realize his dream.

"It (playing for Myers) was pretty big, because I played with a lot of good players," said Palmer. It helped prepare me for university because the competition was better, it gave me a closer feel to big-time football."

In 1996 he led Myers to an undefeated season and captured team Most Valuable Player and Canadian Athlete of the Year honours to go along with the league championship.

"He was extremely focused," said Sandy Rukstuhl, an executive with the Myers club. "Jesse worked out harder than anyone. He used to tattoo our receivers (with his strong passes)."

After his four-year collegiate career at Florida, the New York Giants made Palmer the second Canadian born and raised quarterback to be drafted to the NFL, choosing him in the fourth round of the 2001 draft (the first was University of Toronto's Dan Feraday, drafted to the Bengals in 1982).

Palmer admits that his Canadian roots are still close to his heart, and that he'd like to make a little more Canadian history. When asked who he would like to catch his first NFL touchdown pass, Palmer responded: "I would throw it to my brother Billy (Currently a Senior Tight End at Notre Dame). Palmer didn't wait for Billy, his first touchdown pass in the NFL was a four yard toss to Vishante Shiancoe in 2003.

Sunday's aren't the only time to watch Palmer on TV, the Canadian heartthrob is searching for his Mrs. Right on ABC's fifth edition of The Bachelor.