Alabama Football: 10 greatest quarterback-receiver duos of all time
By Ronald Evans
No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide Quarterback-Receiver Duo
- Jay Barker and David Palmer – 1993 Season
In this duo, it is a receiver that made a Crimson Tide pair so special. Not only was David Palmer a receiver for the 1993 Alabama Football defending National Champions, but he was also a quarterback as well, and a returner.
In the 1992 championship season, Jay Barker was primarily a game manager. He passed for 1,614 yards in the 1992 season. Only 18 of those yards came against Miami in the National Championship game.
A shoulder injury kept Barker out of four games in the 1993 season. Statistically, the 1994 season was Barker’s best. But Barker’s top receiver in 1994, Curtis Brown did not come close to matching David Palmer’s receiving production the season before.
In 1993, David Palmer was sensational. He caught 61 passes for 1,000 yards. His rushing total was 278 yards, with a team-leading, yards per carry average of 6.6 yards. Palmer also passed for 260 yards and had 432 yards in kick and punt returns.
David Palmer finished third in the voting for the 1993 Heisman Trophy Award.