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Stephen Garcia

  • position QB
  • height 6-2
  • weight 219
  • class Sophomore
  • Hometown Tampa, Fla.
  • High school Jefferson
  • position QB
  • height 6-2
  • weight 219
  • class Sophomore
  • Hometown Tampa, Fla.
  • High school Jefferson

Stephen Garcia Bio

Fifth-year senior quarterback… is third all-time at South Carolina in passing yards (6,753), completions (528), attempts (903) and passing touchdowns (43)… is just the third quarterback in Gamecock history with 6,000 career passing yards… is 17-13 as a starter, including a 13-3 mark at home… has started 28 consecutive games and has made a team-high 30 career starts overall entering the 2011 campaign… owns a degree in sociology.

2010: Eamed third-team All-SEC accolades from Phil Steele… started all 14 games… completed 64.2 percent of his passes, hitting on 224-of-349 attempts for 3,059 yards… his 20 TD passes tied for the second most in Carolina history in a single-season… 224 completions (5th), 349 attempts (3rd) and 3,059 yards (3rd) all ranked in the top-five single season marks at SC… completed 16-of-23 for 193 yards in the season opening win over Southern Miss… also rushed for two touchdowns, including a 22-yard romp, in that contest, earning SEC Player of the Week honors by Rivals.com… completed 15-of-21 passes for 235 yards and three TDs in the regular season loss at Auburn… the three TD passes matched his career high… had what coach Steve Spurrier called ‘the best game of his career’ when he was 17-for-20 for 201 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Gamecocks to a 35-21 win over No. 1 Alabama… earned national Offensive Player of the Week accolades by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, named the Davey O[apos]Brien Quarterback of the Week, SEC Offensive Player of the Week and the ESPNU Impact Player of the Week for his performance… completed 20-of-32 passes for a career-high 382 yards and two touchdowns in the loss at Kentucky… the 382-yard effort was the eighth-best passing total in South Carolina history… earned third-team Midseason All-SEC honors by Phil Steele and one of 10 quarterbacks added to the midseason Manning Award watch list… matched his career high with 31 completions in the win at Vanderbilt… was 31-for-39 for 355 yards (the second-most passing yards in his career), with two touchdowns… rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win over Tennessee… had 54 yards rushing against Arkansas, including a long run of 19 yards… passed for two touchdowns and ran for another while playing only the first half vs. Troy, going 9-for-12 for 198 yards… improved to 2-0 as a starter vs. Clemson with a 14-for-20, 227-yard, two-touchdown performance, becoming the first Gamecock quarterback since Tommy Suggs (1968-69) to win his first two starts against the Tigers… passed for two touchdowns and went 16-for-28 for 170 yards in SEC Championship vs. Auburn… was 19-for-34 for 243 yards in the bowl loss to Florida State… caught his first TD pass in that contest.

2009: Redshirt sophomore who took nearly every meaningful snap… started every game, the first Carolina quarterback to get the nod in every contest since Dondrial Pinkins in 2003… earned fourth-team All-SEC honors by Phil Steele… ranked second in the SEC with 220.2 yards passing per game… was third in total offense, averaging 234.5 yards per contest… threw for 17 touchdowns and rushed for four more… logged four of the SEC[apos]s 14 300-yard passing games… was just the third Gamecock quarterback to log four 300-yard passing games in a season, joining Steve Taneyhill (6 in 1995) and Todd Ellis (5 in 1987)… recorded one of the top-five single seasons for a quarterback in Gamecock history, ranking fourth in yards (2,862), fourth in completions (239), tied for first in pass attempts (432) and tied for fifth in touchdown passes (17)… connected on 31-of-53 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns at Georgia… the 53 pass attempts tied for the second-highest single game total in school history, while the 31 completions matched the fourth-highest mark… completed 20-of-27 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown against FAU… outplayed Ole Miss[apos]s Jevan Snead while completing 16-of-34 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown despite playing most of the game with sore ribs… included was a 69-yard strike to Moe Brown… accounted for all four touchdowns in the 28-26 win over Kentucky… passed for three (all to Alshon Jeffery) and rushed for another… completed 16-of-23 passes for 233 yards in that contest… completed 20-of-46 passes for 214 yards against Alabama, including a 52-yard strike to Alshon Jeffery… completed 22-of-33 passes for 312 yards and two scores in the 14-10 win over Vanderbilt… logged his third 300-yard passing game of the season at Tennessee when he completed 25-of-50 passes for 300 yards with a touchdown… had his third-straight 300-yard passing game when he completed 20-of-34 passes at Arkansas for a 327 yards… included was the longest pass completion of his career, an 80-yard touchdown strike to Alshon Jeffery… named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

2008: Saw action in eight games, including a trio of starts… got the starting nod in a loss to LSU, a win over Tennessee and an Outback Bowl loss to Iowa… completed 53.3 percent of his passes (65-for-122) for 832 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions… also has a pair of rushing touchdowns and was second on the team with 198 rushing yards… made his collegiate debut against Georgia, getting into three plays… entered the UAB game on the second series and played through the third quarter… responded by completing 13-of-20 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown with one interception… also carried the ball 18 times for a game-high 86 yards and one touchdown, a five-yard burst… it was the most yards rushing for a Carolina quarterback since Corey Jenkins rushed for 101 yards against Georgia on Sept. 14, 2002… came off the bench to lead Carolina to victory at Kentucky… playing just one and a half quarters, he turned in his best outing, completing 10-of-14 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors and his first start against LSU… completed 14-of-26 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown against the defending national champions with one interception…. earned his first win as a starter against Tennessee after completing 9-of-19 passes for 139 yards and two TDs… split time at quarterback with Chris Smelley in the win over Arkansas and in the loss at Florida… made the start in the Outback Bowl loss to Iowa.

2007: Enrolled at Carolina in January but did not participate in spring drills… worked as the scout team quarterback in the fall while taking a redshirt season.

HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Jefferson High School in Tampa, Fla., in December 2006… completed 506-of-821 passes for 8,081 yards and 83 touchdowns as a prep signal-caller while leading his team to the playoffs each season, including a spot in the championship game as a sophomore… also rushed 263 times for 1,345 yards and 17 scores… graduated as the all-time county leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns and third in the state for career passing yards and sixth in TD passes… earned all-state honors as a senior after passing for over 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns and leading his team to a 9-3 record… played in the Offense-Defense All-Star Game in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., following his senior season… as a junior, he passed for 2,800 yards and 28 TDs and rushed for an additional 700 yards and eight scores… as a sophomore, threw for just under 2,800 yards with 27 TDs… coached by Mike Simmons and Mike Fenton… ranked by Rivals.com as the nation[apos]s fourth-best dual-threat quarterback, the 12th-best player in the state of Florida and a member of the Rivals100… was a four-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com… was the 18th-best quarterback prospect in the nation by Scout.com… ranked as the eighth-best quarterback in the nation by PrepStar… was regarded as the third-best quarterback at the Elite 11 camp in the summer prior to his senior season… two-year starter in basketball… was an honor roll student… considered Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida and Ole Miss, among others, before committing to the Gamecocks.

PERSONAL: Stephen Glenn Garcia owns a degree in sociology… brothers, Brian and Gary, both played football at Harvard… hobbies are watching ancient war movies and collecting swords.