Schools
College Football Sees Blitz of SM Players
Two Samohi alums are playing for Oregon State, while UCLA and USC both have former SMC students.
There was plenty of hype surrounding Ryan Katz when he arrived at Oregon State. So far, he's living up to expectations as the Beavers' starting quarterback.
The former standout, touted as one of the hardest throwers in the country, has fully recovered from the broken right wrist he suffered in OSU's finale against intrastate rival Oregon last fall. Katz is looking forward to a breakout junior year in the new Pacific-12 Conference.
There is reason for football fans to be excited in Corvallis, given how well Katz played as a sophomore starter last fall. He completed 212 of 354 passes for 2,386 yards and 18 touchdowns. He started the season with 129 throws without an interception. Also, he ranked seventh in the Pac-10 at 200.1 passing yards per game.
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After redshirting in 2008, Katz played in four games as a backup in 2009 and threw his first college touchdown pass—a 31-yarder to Damola Adeniji—against Brigham Young in the Las Vegas Bowl.
The Santa Monica native was named the Ocean League Most Valuable Player his senior year after passing for 1,860 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. In three varsity seasons at Samohi, he threw for 5,383 yards, including a school-record six touchdowns in a game. He was the Vikings' team captain all three years under then-coach Zach Cuda.
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Also on Oregon State's roster this season is another Samohi alum, senior linebacker Cameron Collins, who was voted one of the team captains. Collins converted from safety to linebacker last season and matched his career-high with 10 tackles against Arizona State.
Collins made 70 tackles at safety during his senior year at Samohi, despite missing the first four games with a broken hand.
OSU opens the season Sept. 3 in Corvallis against Sacramento State. The Beavers host UCLA on Sept. 24 but don't play USC. Click here for the team's complete schedule.
UCLA and USC, meanwhile, both have transfers from on their rosters.
Zach Scribner, a redshirt junior who played at before moving on to SMC, is one of eight quarterbacks listed on the Bruins' roster.
Another former Corsair, redshirt junior defensive tackle Tyler Grady, is on the Trojans' roster. He had 35 total tackles and two sacks as a senior at Beverly Hills High in 2005.
