Catawissa (PA) Southern Columbia running back Gaige Garcia committed to Michigan on Sunday. I’m putting his commitment on the front page because of the “odd” nature of his commitment, but I won’t be giving him a TTB Rating, and here’s why:
Garcia is a standout wrestler who is accepting a scholarship to Michigan for his prowess on the mat. He will walk on to Michigan’s football program. As a scholarship player in another sport, if he ever plays in a game, he would then count as one of Michigan’s 85 scholarship players. So basically Michigan would have to decide prior to the season whether they want to give a scholarship to him, or to other scholarship players, or to other walk-ons.
Personally, I believe wrestling is such an all-consuming sport that Garcia will realize sooner rather than later that playing both sports in college is extremely difficult, if not impossible. So basically we’re talking about a preferred walk-on who I’m guessing will be off the football roster within a couple years.
As for his exploits on the field, Garcia ran the ball 201 times for 2,048 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior in 2018. He’s a good high school player and a tough runner who has decent speed, but in my opinion, he’s not an FBS tailback. Maybe he could be a fullback if he wanted to pack on some weight, but that’s where wrestling and football don’t mix; fullbacks would require some meat on the bones, while wrestling is often about being lean and cutting weight.
Garcia is a teammate of 2020 linebacker Cal Haladay, who recently committed to Michigan State.
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Very informative write-up … thanks!
Going way back to my high school days (over 40 years ago) I recall gym class wrestling as the most grueling. It was over winter term, and the gym teacher had us do pretty intense calisthenics for several weeks before we even started wrestling. That was probably when I was in the best shape of my life, *and* the wrestling still winded me. I’ve heard boxing is more grueling still.
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Yep, I remember westing winter conditioning quite well
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I thought the NCAA forbid this kind of cross-sport scholarship allocation for football. Otherwise wouldn’t this be a huge loop-hole for schools like Alabama who would gladly burn through non-revenue sport scholarships to aid football?
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Explained here:
“He will walk on to Michigan’s football program. As a scholarship player in another sport, if he ever plays in a game, he would then count as one of Michigan’s 85 scholarship players. So basically Michigan would have to decide prior to the season whether they want to give a scholarship to him, or to other scholarship players, or to other walk-ons”
Read pretty much the same somewhere else
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I still don’t understand. Is the scholarship awarded before the season or when he plays a game? Is he considered ineligible to play while on a wrestling scholarship?
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If he was a little faster I would really like him as a prospect. He has good patience, good vision, good power, and great feet. I think I read he ran a 11.5 100m dash, which I know doesn’t translate exactly to football, but that’s not fast and it shows on the tape.
Not everyone needs to be running a 10.5 (or 10.28 depending on what you believe) like Denard, but I believe defensive ends Ojabo and Paye ran it in 10.9 and 11.0, respectively. Ojabo and Paye are obviously cherry picked for reference, they’re athletic monsters, but my point still stands.
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https://247sports.com/Player/Gaige-Garcia-46042243/
Not sure I’ve seen a more powerful neck since Gordie Howe.
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