Jordan Palmer is the younger brother of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. Jordan attended Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, California where he was a three-sport athlete, playing basketball, football, and running track. Jordan saw action at receiver as a junior, helping the team to a 9-3 record. As a senior quarterback he passed for 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns with just 4 interceptions. He led the team to a 14-0 record and received all-CIF honors, on his way to being named league offensive MVP. Jordan wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school. He accepted a scholarship to UTEP where he sat out the 2002 season as a redshirt after missing six weeks of practice with a broken collarbone. He went on to start six games the following season, missing three games due to injuries to his knee and ribs. He completed 98 of 198 passes for 1,168 yards and 7 touchdowns, throwing 13 interceptions in the process. He went on to start every game as a sophomore, completing 213 of 366 pass attempts. He threw for 2,618 yards and 26 touchdowns with 18 interceptions. He was named honorable mention all-WAC for his performance as a sophomore. As a junior, Jordan found his way into the school record books completing 258 of 343 passes for 2,894 yards and 29 touchdowns against 19 interceptions. He was named second team all-Conference USA following his junior season.

Jordan Palmer has been the starting quarterback at UTEP for the past 3 1/2 years. He is a hard worker who always strives for continuous improvement in his game. The younger brother of Carson Palmer has prototypical size for an NFL quarterback. He displays good mechanics and has a strong arm with the ability to make all the throws required of a quarterback at the professional level. He is athletic enough to avoid the rush. He can get out of the pocket and has the ability to make an accurate throw on the run when needed. Playing in the WAC and Conference USA at UTEP, Palmer didn't face top competition on a regular basis. He did have some accuracy problems early on in his career but he has improved greatly in that area as a senior. He lacks a quick release and has a tendency to force the ball into coverage, which has led to too many interceptions during his time at UTEP. This is yet another area where he has shown improvement as a senior. Jordan Palmer didn't play quarterback until his senior year of high school. He is still developing as a quarterback and he has shown improvement every year. He has all the tools to in time become a successful quarterback at the next level. He has a good deal of upside and should be taken in the mid-rounds by a team looking for a developmental quarterback.