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CINCINNATI -- Wearing a bright orange jersey and an unfamiliar number, Carson Palmer took his first NFL snaps during the Cincinnati Bengals' minicamp this weekend.
Jon Kitna and Akili Smith ran more plays, but No. 1 draft pick Palmer got most of the attention from dozens of fans watching practice at the invitation of the team's radio station.
It wasn't difficult to tell which quarterback was the star in the making.
"'Johnny B. Goode.' You guys remember that movie?'' Kitna said. "Southern California, 6-foot-5, blond-haired. I think he has blue eyes, nice tan, all that stuff. He's the perfect guy.
"You look up 'quarterback' (in the dictionary) and see a little picture of Carson.''
Well, not quite yet. The Heisman Trophy winner has a long way to go before he gets his name in any reference book other than the team's media guide, which won't be printed for a couple of months.
Replicas of his Bengals jersey are available for $65 on the team's Web site -- the only jersey currently advertised online -- but it has his new No. 9 instead of the No. 3 he wore in college at Southern California.
In Cincinnati, it's Kitna's number and Kitna's job, for the moment.
"Even though they call me the starter this year, that's not true,'' Kitna said. "That is not true. Go out and fall flat on your face, or if Akili or Carson lights it up, I don't care who you are, they will take you out. That's the nature of the beast.''
Jon Kitna and Akili Smith ran more plays, but No. 1 draft pick Palmer got most of the attention from dozens of fans watching practice at the invitation of the team's radio station.
It wasn't difficult to tell which quarterback was the star in the making.
"'Johnny B. Goode.' You guys remember that movie?'' Kitna said. "Southern California, 6-foot-5, blond-haired. I think he has blue eyes, nice tan, all that stuff. He's the perfect guy.
"You look up 'quarterback' (in the dictionary) and see a little picture of Carson.''
Well, not quite yet. The Heisman Trophy winner has a long way to go before he gets his name in any reference book other than the team's media guide, which won't be printed for a couple of months.
Replicas of his Bengals jersey are available for $65 on the team's Web site -- the only jersey currently advertised online -- but it has his new No. 9 instead of the No. 3 he wore in college at Southern California.
In Cincinnati, it's Kitna's number and Kitna's job, for the moment.
"Even though they call me the starter this year, that's not true,'' Kitna said. "That is not true. Go out and fall flat on your face, or if Akili or Carson lights it up, I don't care who you are, they will take you out. That's the nature of the beast.''
