Stephen Garcia Suspended Indefinitely By South Carolina, How Will it Affect Their SEC Title Hopes Next Season?
The South Carolina Gamecocks have suspended senior quarterback Stephen Garcia indefinitely, multiple media outlets are reporting today.
According to those reports, Garcia was suspended for behaving in a manner not befitting a student athlete, although the specific offense was not specified by the school or the team.
Garcia has had clashes with the rules in the past, having been suspended four times prior to this since enrolling at South Carolina, including one this spring. But, given the number of times he's been suspended, Garcia has likely reached the end of his rope in Columbia.
With their starter from last season suspended, are the Gamecocks' title hopes dashed? After all, with a strong recruiting class, talented wideouts and running back Marcus Lattimore, many in and around South Carolina's program were predicting a banner year under head coach Steve Spurrier. Now, without Garcia, those dreams could be in serious jeopardy.
But, there is plenty of hope for South Carolina next season, as ESPN's Chris Low seems to think Garcia wasn't even the best option on the Gamecocks' roster.
"Down deep, I don?t think Spurrier ever felt like he could win an SEC championship with Garcia at the helm.
Spurrier wasn?t sure he could with then-true freshman Connor Shaw, either, last season.
But in Shaw, Spurrier saw somebody who was at least willing to do it the way the Head Ball Coach wanted it done, and just as importantly, was willing to work however many hours it took to get it right."
In other words, it's clear that Steve Spurrier wasn't too keen on the idea of keeping Garcia as his primary quarterback anyway, and was going to open up a competition for the starting job this spring.
The fact is, Garcia never really grabbed the reins the way you'd expect a player with his considerable physical gifts to do. Sure, he's third on the team's all-time passing yards list, but it never felt like he was a great fit in their offense, and his constant interceptions and brushes with off-field issues were a big part of why.
If anything, ending the quarterback controversy in Columbia by suspending Garcia again has strengthened the Gamecocks' hopes of a historic season. Connor Shaw looks like the future, and with no fear of losing his starting gig, Shaw should show us all that he deserved the starting gig all along. Look for South Carolina to remain a favorite to win the SEC East, and potentially win the SEC come next season.
For more college football news, check out College Football: The 25 Best Teams in College Football History.
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