Aug. 21, 2026, 11:03 p.m. ET
Fletch Palmer, son of head coach Carson Palmer, was named the starting quarterback for Santa Margarita High School. This will be Fletch Palmer’s first season as the starting quarterback for the Eagles.
Head coach Carson Palmer, a former NFL quarterback, led the team to a CIF-SS Division 1 championship in his first season. Carson Palmer also won a Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. It’s staying in the family at Santa Margarita (CA). Junior Fletch Palmer, son of Santa Margarita head coach and longtime NFL quarterback, was named the starting quarterback for the Eagles’ season opener on Friday night, Aug. 21, against Jones (FL).
Fletch took snaps in three games last season, but attempted only seven passes. He completed five of those for 74 yards. The top spot went to him over Villa Park (CA) senior transfer Matt Smith and Coronado (CA) junior transfer West Stansbury. Carson Palmer himself is new to the program — this will only be his second season at head coach — but he’s already made quite his mark on the Eagles. In his first season with the program, Carson, who led Santa Margarita to back-to-back CIF titles as a player in the 90s, guided the Eagles to the CIF-SS Division 1 championship.
Following his time as a player at Santa Margarita, Carson Palmer went on to play college football at USC and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002. He went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, going to the Cincinnati Bengals to kick start a 15-season NFL playing career.
