Vols senior wide receiver Josh Palmer accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl on Monday, the bowl game announced.
“Usually we talk to players about these things at the end of the season,” Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “It’s kind of unusual, I guess this past week would normally have been the SEC Championship Game, I think that’s right, so our season has been moved back a couple of weeks. We’ve not really had those conversations.
“It’s a great opportunity for Josh with the invite to the Senior Bowl. They don’t just give those things away, so it’s a great opportunity for him.”
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played in Mobile, Alabama that provides select college seniors an opportunity to showcase their ability in front of all 32 NFL teams. This year’s senior bowl will be played on January 30, 2021.
Palmer has caught 26 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns through eight games this season. He caught a touchdown in the season-opener against South Carolina before hauling in two touchdowns two weeks later against then-ranked No. 3 Georgia. Palmer also caught a touchdown against No. 1 Alabama.
The native of Canada finished second on the Vols as a junior a season with 34 catches. Palmer tallied a touchdown and 457 receiving yards as he appeared in all 13 games, 12 of which were starts. His best performance as a junior came when he hauled in a career-high six catches for 87 yards against Indiana in the bowl game.
Palmer has started at least six games in each season as a Vol. He started six games as a true freshman when he caught nine passes for 98 yards before starting eight games as a sophomore in 2018 when he made 23 catches for 484 yards and two touchdowns.
The 6-foot-2 receiver signed with the Vols out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2017 as a three-star receiver. Palmer grew up mostly playing basketball and football and became serious about football in the ninth grade. He then moved from Brampton, Ontario to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to focus more on football.
Palmer has started 33 times in 44 career games on Rocky Top. He’s caught 88 passes for 1,370 yards and seven touchdowns to this point in his career, while also rushing for a touchdown. 63 of his 88 catches have gone for a first down, while 15 career catches have been for 25 or more yards.
Tennessee will look to snap a six-game losing streak this Saturday when it heads to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
