The Stephen Garcia era has come to an end in Columbia. The fifth year senior quarterback was dismissed from the football team.
ESPN.com's Chris Low reports that Garcia had alcohol and marijuana show on a drug test.
Gary Garcia, Stephen's Dad, told CBSSports.com that he was let go for having a "couple of beers" violating a zero tolerance policy
Garcia was suspended five times in his college football career and was benched last week due to poor play. In 34 starts, Garcia was 20-14. He was 2-0 against archrival Clemson, but 0-3 in bowl games. He struggled in 2011 with just 4 TD passes and 9 interceptions, six of them coming in his final two games as a Gamecock (Vanderbilt and Auburn).
University of South Carolina Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. (October 11, 2011) – University of South Carolina senior quarterback Stephen Garcia has been dismissed from the football team, it was announced today.
“Being a student-athlete at the University of South Carolina is a privilege, not a right,” said Athletics Director Eric Hyman, “and we remind all of our student-athletes that there are consequences for their actions. For Stephen to return to and remain with the football squad this fall, we agreed on several established guidelines. Unfortunately, he has not been able to abide by those guidelines and has therefore forfeited his position on the roster. We wish him the best of luck as he moves forward in life.”
“We are all saddened that this has occurred,” said head coach Steve Spurrier. “We all feel like we’ve given Stephen numerous opportunities to be a student-athlete here at South Carolina. Obviously, he has chosen not to follow the guidelines of his reinstatement contract. We wish him the best.”
Garcia finishes his career with 7,597 passing yards, completing 589-of-1021 passes (57.7 percent), with 47 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He became the third quarterback in school history to throw for more than 7,500 yards in a career, and also ranks third on the all-time charts in pass attempts, pass completions and passing touchdowns. He posted a 20-14 record as a starting quarterback. This season, he was 61-of-118 (51.7 percent) for 844 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions in five games.
Stephen Garcia Timeline
December, 2006: Garcia commits to the University of South Caroilna and enrolls in the spring semester
February, 2007: Suspension #1: Arrested in Columbia
March 6, 2007: Suspension #2: Keying professor's car, misses spring practice
March, 2008: Suspension #3: Charged with underage drinking and discharging a fire extinguisher. Has to re-apply to the University for admittance in AugustSeptember 27, 2008: First significant playing time in a 26-13 win over UAB
November 28, 2009: Garcia throws 3 TD passes to beat Clemson 34-17
October 9, 2010: Throws 3 TD passes to upset #1 Alabama 35-21
November 27, 2010: Throws 2 TD passes to beat Clemson for a second straight year 29-7
December, 31st, 2010: Throws 3 INT's in Chick-Fil-A bowl loss to Florida State, finishes 0-3 as bowl starter
March, 2011: Suspension #4: Suspended for a violation of team rules believed to be tied in to rumored behavior during Gamecocks Chick-Fil-A bowl trip
April, 2011: Suspension #5: Suspended for the second time in the spring for another violation of team rulesSeptember 3rd, 2011: Comes off the bench to beat ECU in Charlotte
October 1st, 2011: Garcia's final start at USC, 2 INT's in loss to Auburn
