Several former Palisades High football players figure to play key roles on their Pacific-10 Conference teams during the upcoming college football season. Two PaliHi alumni are at 13th-ranked Cal, including 2000 Palisadian-Post Cup Award winner Geoff McArthur. A second-team All-American last season, McArthur is on pace to break Cal’s career receiving records this fall and could even make a run at the Heisman Trophy. The Bears’ senior wide receiver ranks fourth in school history in receiving yards (2,326), fifth in receptions (145) and needs 51 catches and 406 yards to become the team’s all-time leader in both categories. He set school single-season marks last year with 1,504 receiving yards, 85 catches and 10 touchdowns and ranked second behind Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald in receiving yards per game. McArthur was a human highlight film his senior year at Palisades. He led the nation with 1,779 receiving yards and his 91 catches (28 for touchdowns) ranked fourth in the country. He also played free safety on defense, making 80 tackles and intercepting three passes, and was voted the Los Angeles Times’ Westside Player of the Year. One of McArthur’s teammates at Palisades has rejoined him at Cal: Palisadian Eric Beegun. Though a shoulder injury forced him to redshirt last season, Beegun is expected to add depth at tight end and also contribute on special teams, where he played in 11 games as a true freshman. ‘ Beegun also enjoyed a stellar senior season at PaliHi, catching 20 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns and earning All-Western League first-team honors. As a junior, Beegun made SuperPrep magazine’s All-West Region team after 25 receptions for 621 yards and nine touchdowns. Cal opens its season Saturday at Air Force. In January, David Koral transferred to UCLA from Santa Monica College and he will be a back-up for starting quarterback Drew Olson in the Bruins’ season opener Saturday against Oklahoma. Koral has two seasons of eligibility remaining. As a sophomore in 2003, he completed 155 of 281 passes for 2,202 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games for the Corsairs. Koral signed with Vanderbilt in February 2001 but left after that season due to a change in coaching staff. He suffered a broken collar bone after one game at Santa Monica College the following year. He walked-on at Florida State in Spring 2003 but returned to SMC in the fall. Koral had two remarkable seasons at Palisades under head coach Ron Price. As a junior, he threw for 4,902 yards and 58 touchdowns and tied a national record with 10 touchdown passes in one game. His senior year he passed for 4,057 yards and 44 touchdowns, including a national prep record 764 yards against Van Nuys. Across town at USC, one of Koral’s primary targets at PaliHi is the first-string punt returner for the top-ranked Trojans. Greig Carslon, a redshirt junior, is 18th on USC’s career punt return list, with 48 runbacks for 365 yards. The sure-handed Carlson, a one-time walk-on now on scholarship, is also a reserve wide receiver. Carlson caught 66 passes for 1,380 yards with 26 touchdowns as a wide receiver in 2000 and had four interceptions as a defensive back. He added two touchdowns each on punt and kickoff returns. When Koral broke his arm during Pali’s first round playoff game at Birmingham, Carlson stepped in to throw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and he ran for two more scores. Up the coast at Oregon, Geoff Schwartz, who won the Post Cup Award as outstanding senior athlete at PaliHi in the spring, is already making an impression as a freshman offensive lineman for the Ducks. He was a standout performer in pre-season workouts and is practicing with the second-string line.
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