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Carson Palmer will be thankful for his position Friday as he prepares to debut as Santa Margarita’s football coach.
The 45-year-old will be back where his football journey took off.
Once again, he will be leading the Eagles, who play host to Mission Viejo at Trabuco Hills High at 7 p.m.
“I feel a considerable amount of gratitude to lead this program — to have come full-circle and receive fulfillment in return for giving back,” Palmer said on Thursday.
“As our school president Andy Sulick affirmed at the start of the semester, this is the ‘Year of Humility’ at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.”
Before Palmer became a Heisman Trophy winner at USC, a No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL and an All-Pro, he was a strong-armed, accurate and athletic quarterback at Santa Margarita in the 1990s.
He led the Eagles to a consecutive CIF-SS Division 5 titles, including a memorable 55-42 win against Tustin and running back DeShaun Foster in 1997.
On Friday, Palmer will lead a Santa Margarita program that was rocked last season by an alleged sexual assault case.
In announcing his hire in December, the Trinity League school stated that Palmer “aims to build a program that emphasizes not only athletic performance but also academic success and character development.”
A glimpse of Palmer’s coaching style was visible in July at the Battle at the Beach passing tournament at Edison.
The collegiate Hall of Fame inductee commanded the respected of his players and pushed them to play disciplined.
Palmer, a father of two children at Santa Margarita, balanced the summer tournament by engaging several well-wishers.
Palmer is grateful for his journey, which now shifts under the Friday night lights.