Good Sign: Garcia Proves He Wants To Be Here
posted by Scott Hood, Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Regrettably, that’s more than I can say about some former USC football players, but that’s in the past.
If you still have doubts about Garcia’s loyalty, you should be aware of this one fact: he recently completed 175 hours of community service, which was one of the conditions for being reinstated to the football team last August following a four-month suspension.
In case you missed it, here are the words of Steve Spurrier from last Thursday’s appearance in Florence at the Pee Dee Region Gamecock Club:
“I’m going to give him a big hand. I don’t think I could have done that. Stephen wants to be here and he wants to lead South Carolina to a championship. I really believe that. Hopefully, he’s turned his life around. He’s made a sincere commitment.”
Kudos to Garcia.
There are more than a few people out there who thought after his second suspension that Garcia wouldn't make it, or didn't deserve a second or third chance. Some called for his permanent dismissal. But Spurrier stuck to his guns, knowing it was mostly a maturity issue with Garcia.
Remember, he might be the most scrutinized USC athlete in recent memory. Thousands of Gamecock supporters lived and died and lived again when he struggled with his new-found fame two years ago.
Over the last couple of weeks before the spring game, I saw a more mature, more humble, more wise Garcia. You could see it in the way he handled his quarterbacking duties and the way he addressed the media.
Did Garcia have issues when he got to USC? Absolutely. Has he learned some of life’s lessons the hard way? You bet.
In my opinion, the genesis of the new Garcia came last spring and summer when he was forced to sit at home in Tampa. Being alone and isolated has a way of affecting people, and it certainly appears it did in this case.
At the time, Garcia had a choice: continue on his current path of self-destruction or head in a different direction towards a better future.
Obviously, he chose the latter. And USC will be a better team in 2009 because of it.
After the spring game, Garcia said all the right things. He knows the spotlight is squarely on him now as the starting QB for the flagship university of the Palmetto State, and that it’s time to start taking ownership of the team. He’s not a baby-faced freshman any longer. He’s been with the program since January of 2007, a span of more than two years.
Here’s his most intriguing comment after the spring game: “Being the starting quarterback, you need to be a lot more committed to the team.”
In short, he realizes it’s time for him to step up, both on and off the field. It also appears to be an acknowledgment that he didn’t work hard enough last season.
However, the transfers of Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher changed the QB picture and put Garcia at the forefront. Garcia vowed to be a leader in summer workouts and “the first one here and the last one to leave and let the players see that.”
I think it’s also helped immensely that Garcia has a position coach devoted just to quarterbacks. G.A. Mangus has already done an excellent job of handling Garcia and appears to be pushing the right buttons.
Make no mistake, Mangus is a highly demanding coach. He passionately insisted after the spring game that Garcia had to throw “thousands of balls” to the USC wide receivers between now and the start of pre-season camp.
But he wouldn’t be saying those things if he didn’t think Garcia had the ability to be a star QB in the SEC. I can assure you, Mangus would have killed to have as much physically talent as Garcia possesses when he was a QB at Florida in the early 199€0’s during Spurrier’s first couple of years with the Gators.
But that’s exactly what Garcia needs – someone who will push him to the limit and play up to his enormous potential. Frankly, he’s going to have to do that if USC has any chance to prevail at places like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Right now, the ball is in Garcia’s court. The early signs are positive. But there’s a long way to go before early August gets here.
We’ll see where this thing goes.
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Love him or hate him, you have to give Stephen Garcia credit for one thing – he’s proven he wants to be a Gamecock.
Regrettably, that’s more than I can say about some former USC football players, but that’s in the past.
If you still have doubts about Garcia’s loyalty, you should be aware of this one fact: he recently completed 175 hours of community service, which was one of the conditions for being reinstated to the football team last August following a four-month suspension.
In case you missed it, here are the words of Steve Spurrier from last Thursday’s appearance in Florence at the Pee Dee Region Gamecock Club:
“I’m going to give him a big hand. I don’t think I could have done that. Stephen wants to be here and he wants to lead South Carolina to a championship. I really believe that. Hopefully, he’s turned his life around. He’s made a sincere commitment.”
Kudos to Garcia.
There are more than a few people out there who thought after his second suspension that Garcia wouldn't make it, or didn't deserve a second or third chance. Some called for his permanent dismissal. But Spurrier stuck to his guns, knowing it was mostly a maturity issue with Garcia.
Remember, he might be the most scrutinized USC athlete in recent memory. Thousands of Gamecock supporters lived and died and lived again when he struggled with his new-found fame two years ago.
Over the last couple of weeks before the spring game, I saw a more mature, more humble, more wise Garcia. You could see it in the way he handled his quarterbacking duties and the way he addressed the media.
Did Garcia have issues when he got to USC? Absolutely. Has he learned some of life’s lessons the hard way? You bet.
In my opinion, the genesis of the new Garcia came last spring and summer when he was forced to sit at home in Tampa. Being alone and isolated has a way of affecting people, and it certainly appears it did in this case.
At the time, Garcia had a choice: continue on his current path of self-destruction or head in a different direction towards a better future.
Obviously, he chose the latter. And USC will be a better team in 2009 because of it.
After the spring game, Garcia said all the right things. He knows the spotlight is squarely on him now as the starting QB for the flagship university of the Palmetto State, and that it’s time to start taking ownership of the team. He’s not a baby-faced freshman any longer. He’s been with the program since January of 2007, a span of more than two years.
Here’s his most intriguing comment after the spring game: “Being the starting quarterback, you need to be a lot more committed to the team.”
In short, he realizes it’s time for him to step up, both on and off the field. It also appears to be an acknowledgment that he didn’t work hard enough last season.
However, the transfers of Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher changed the QB picture and put Garcia at the forefront. Garcia vowed to be a leader in summer workouts and “the first one here and the last one to leave and let the players see that.”
I think it’s also helped immensely that Garcia has a position coach devoted just to quarterbacks. G.A. Mangus has already done an excellent job of handling Garcia and appears to be pushing the right buttons.
Make no mistake, Mangus is a highly demanding coach. He passionately insisted after the spring game that Garcia had to throw “thousands of balls” to the USC wide receivers between now and the start of pre-season camp.
But he wouldn’t be saying those things if he didn’t think Garcia had the ability to be a star QB in the SEC. I can assure you, Mangus would have killed to have as much physically talent as Garcia possesses when he was a QB at Florida in the early 199€0’s during Spurrier’s first couple of years with the Gators.
But that’s exactly what Garcia needs – someone who will push him to the limit and play up to his enormous potential. Frankly, he’s going to have to do that if USC has any chance to prevail at places like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Right now, the ball is in Garcia’s court. The early signs are positive. But there’s a long way to go before early August gets here.
We’ll see where this thing goes.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.