Steve Spurrier jokes about Jesse Palmer, Thaddeus Bullard becoming reality TV stars

During his time as a head coach, Steve Spurrier was one of the largest personalities in the sport. So, it’s no surprise that he seemed to attract some big personalities during his time at Florida, like future reality stars Jesse Palmer and Thaddeus Bullard.

Those reality TV stars recently came up during an episode of the Another Dooley Noted Podcast. There, Spurrier recounted a day against Kentucky in 2000 when he rushed for four touchdowns.

“Remember Jesse Palmer scored four touchdowns against Kentucky one day,” Steve Spurrier said. “Set the all-time QB touchdown record that day… We had some shotgun plays we put him in that day for some reason, but yeah, he ran for four touchdowns.”

Jesse Palmer would go on to have a professional career in football. That came to an end in 2006, when his time in the CFL ended. That’s when the Canadian native Palmer moved to the next stage of his life. That meant quickly transitioning into broadcasting. He’d become a color commentator for Fox and later ESPN. In 2015, he became a special contributor for Good Morning America. He would also replace Chris Harrison as the host of The Bachelor franchise while adding numerous cooking shows to his plate.

“Oh, he is everywhere, ain’t he? He’s everywhere,” Spurrier joked. “Yeah, cooking channels. He’s on there too.”

Jesse Palmer isn’t the only Florida Gator who Steve Spurrier coached who has found his way onto reality TV. Thaddeus Bullard, better known as WWE Hall of Famer Titus O’Neil, is also on reality TV now, called Kings Court. Spurrier hadn’t known about that, but upon finding out, said, “Well, he’s probably pretty good at it.”

That type of television success might well go beyond Spurrier. Some of that success could be attributable to the school. After all, those football players are far from the only successful Gators on TV. Plenty of others who were never directly associated with the program have also found some kind of success. That includes in sports media.

“TV guys. Yeah, that’s happened a lot at Florida when you think of the female reporters. Erin Andrews and Laura [Rutledge]. They’re two of the top [TV personalities].”

This season, Florida fans are hoping that the football team produces a show they’re excited to watch every Saturday. Certainly, current head coach Billy Napier is looking to build on last year’s 8-5 campaign. That next season is set to begin for the Gators on August 30th against LIU.