Since I started blogging right around this time two years ago, I’ve made more jokes at the expense of Stephen Garcia than just about anyone. As a general rule I don’t like making fun of college kids, but in the case of Garcia, it was just too easy. Garcia had the hair. And the beard. And the “whatever, bro, get off me” attitude. Not to mention a list of so many minor, yet suspendable-infractions, that you needed two legal pads to keep track of them. In a lot of ways, it was impossible not to make fun of him. That’s what tends to happen when you get in trouble with the law so many times that even writers like me- people who love college football, and follow it with a find tooth comb- lose count.
There was always something else with Stephen Garcia though. Because for all the head-scratchin’, headset throwing mistakes he made, all the times he made you stare at your TV set in disbelief and think, “what in the hell is wrong with that boy?” he had the uncanny ability to rally himself, rally the troops and take South Carolina to places they’d basically never been.
Most famous was last year’s win over No. 1 Alabama, a late season victory over Florida in the Swamp, and the subsequent SEC East Championship that followed. However few remember that earlier in the season, it was Garcia and South Carolina that were as close as anyone to knocking off the future National Champion Auburn Tigers. Or that in 2009, the Gamecocks were closer than anyone in the regular season to upsetting Tim Tebow and Florida before they eventually went onto to lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship. Or that a few weeks before that, South Carolina beat Ole Miss when they were ranked No. 4 in the country. And Garcia had as much to do with all those games and really, a golden era in South Carolina football as anyone else. For all his quirky traits, no one ever doubted his toughness, or that he could- when the moment struck him- actually play the quarterback position really well.
In large part, that’s what made watching South Carolina’s 16-13 loss to Auburn Saturday so tough. Because you couldn’t really pin the loss on the Gamecocks, so much as squarely on Garcia’s shoulders. The quarterback that was always a little erratic is now just plain bad.
Now obviously, you can look at Garcia’s stats this season and surmise pretty easily that he’s nowhere near one of the elite quarterbacks in the country, let alone the SEC. Those four touchdowns and nine interceptions don’t lie, and neither does his 51.7 percent completion percentage. Those numbers alone are enough to send Steve Spurrier to an early retirement, or quite frankly, an early grave. If Garcia doesn’t pick up his game, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Old Ball Coach really did have an actual heart attack on the sidelines before the season is done.
Still though, Garcia was never a quarterback that you judged by the numbers on the stat sheet. Because for whatever bone-headed picks he threw, or fumbles he coughed up, Garcia always seemed to make up for it in mental toughness, fortitude and the ability to rally his troops on the next drive. Like a little kid who does something wrong, Garcia always knew when he’d screwed up, and always buckled his chin strap and got things done on the next series.
Well, whoever that guy was, he’s gone. At the very least, he definitely wasn’t in Columbia on Saturday, and really has been missing since coming off the bench to beat East Carolina in Week 1 of the season.
Because the Stephen Garcia I saw Saturday is no longer the loveable loser, but instead, just a straight screw-up.
Not only did he complete just 9 of 23 passes (36 percent) and throw two picks, but it’s how he looked doing it. Garcia overthrew guys that were wide open. He tossed balls 10 yards out of bounds when the play called for hit to hit a receiver on the sideline. He threw the ball deep into triple coverage. Again, there’s no way to put it other than Garcia is just really, really bad. And given that he’s been really bad for four weeks now, it’s hard to see things changing.
As for us as spectators, well, Garcia’s fall has been especially hard to swallow for a few reasons.
The first and most obvious, is that South Carolina was built to win this year. I will contend on my life that this defense is pound-for-pound, player-for-player as good as any in the country. Only you’d never know it, because they’ve got to play nearly perfect for South Carolina to win. Marcus Lattimore is literally killing himself at running back, and Alshon Jeffery is literally doing everything he can at wide receiver, and it’s still not enough. The efforts of 84 guys are going wasted because of the stupidity of one. That one of course, is Garcia.
Then there’s the more personal level in all this. For all the jokes that writers like me have made, and for all the pressure the fans have put it on him, to Garcia’s credit, he always seemed to be able to brush it off, and move onto the next play. He was uncanny in that sense. Well this year, everything really seems to be getting to him. You can see it in his body language, and you can see it with the “Oh my God, not again,” look on his face that he brings to the sidelines at least half a dozen times a game.
And really, that’s the saddest part of all. We spent the last four years (dating back to his first arrest, before he’d even started his redshirt year) cracking jokes at his personal demons and his inability to handle himself when alcohol was in his system. But we also cracked those jokes with the explicit understanding that, no matter what he did on a Wednesday or Thursday or Friday night, Garcia would be ready to play come Saturday.
Only, now the roles are reversed. For the first time maybe ever in South Carolina, Garcia is seemingly on his best behavior off the field. Do I know that for sure? Of course not. But at the same it was made explicitly clear by everyone that this really was his last chance. That edict wasn’t just from Steve Spurrier, but if you read the tea leaves, from the entire South Carolina football team. This spring’s suspension was different than the others. For the first time, it seemed like even fellow players had grown tired of his behavior.
Well Garcia was allowed back on the team, and truth be told, maybe that was the worst possible thing for him. Garcia has cleaned up his act, shaved the beard and cut his hair, but all the superpowers that came with them seem to have disappeared. Garcia might be a lot less of a flawed human off the field, but on it, he’s an unmitigated disaster.
In the end, we’ll never know how things might’ve turned out differently had Spurrier given Garcia the boot last summer. Garcia admittedly said at the time that he thought it might’ve been in his best interests to move on, before deciding against it. Maybe he should’ve just hit the road. In reality, it might’ve been better for everyone.
No matter what though, I know this: For the first time in three years, I’m done making Stephen Garcia jokes.
It used to be fun poking at the guy. Now it’s just plain depressing.
Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
