Garcia to play in AA Bowl in front of home crowd
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East Team (roster)
Quarterback
Tampa, Fla.
Garcia in actionClick 6-2, 202, 4.65Here to view this Link.
Rivals.com Rankings
Rivals100 for 2007: No. 57 overall
Rivals.com dual-threat quarterbacks: No. 3
Rivals.com Florida top 100: No. 9
One of the nation's top quarterback prospects is excited about his selection to the East squad of the inaugural Offense-Defense All-American Bowl.
"I'm very excited about it," Stephen Garcia said. "I had gotten a letter about it, and then they called me to let me know I'd made it."
The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder will be one of three quarterbacks for the East squad in the game, which kicks off at 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, Jan. 4 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The game will be televised live by ESPNU.
Rivals.com is the official selection partner of the event.
The ability to play in front of fans in his home state was appealing to Garcia.
"Fort Lauderdale is only about a 45-minute flight, so it's a great location for me," he said.
It's fitting that Garcia play one final game in Florida as a high school quarterback. Many fans in the region will have another opportunity to see the record-setting QB from the Tampa Bay area.
This season, Garcia broke former Miami quarterback Kenny Kelly's career passing yardage mark in Hillsborough County, Fla. Garcia has more than 7,500 career passing yards.
Garcia threw for more than 2,800 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior, while rushing for approximately 700 yards and seven touchdowns. As a senior, he has thrown for 2,300 yards and 25 touchdowns, adding 500 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
He has led Jefferson to a 9-2 record and the second round of the Florida Class 4A playoffs.
Garcia was selected to participate in the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp this summer. The youngster impressed many with his play at the camp. Student Sports and Rivals.com analyst Greg Biggins got the opportunity to scout Garcia.
"Garcia may have improved his stock more than any other camper (at the Elite 11)," he said. "He finished third in the final voting for Camp MVP honors and capped off a great week of practice. He has a college body right now and is physically in great shape. He moves around well and is as comfortable throwing in the pocket as he is outside of it."
Biggins went on to add that Garcia had some similarities to current Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who happens to be Garcia's sports hero.
On the recruiting front, Garcia likes South Carolina, Oklahoma, Auburn, Florida and Boston College. There is a chance Garcia could graduate from high school in December and enroll in college in time for spring practice, so he may make a decision very soon.
Garcia is a high (6.0) four-star rated prospect and is the nation's third-ranked dual-threat quarterback prospect by Rivals.com.
Others announced today:
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