Quarterback speaks for first time since suspension
He met with the media.
USC's fifth-year senior quarterback spoke publicly for the first time since sitting out the first week of spring drills.
"It was not fun at all," said Garcia of the suspension. "It sucked."
Thursday's session was the third Garcia has attended this spring. He was at Saturday's scrimmage as a limited participant and returned to practice fully on Tuesday.
"It's a lot better than it was last week," he said. "It's tough not being a part of the team."
The suspension was related to an incident during the week leading up to USC's Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance against Florida State. When asked what transpired, Garcia declined to comment.
"I really don't want to get into that," he said. "It's kind of an in-house deal, and I'm just going to leave it at that. We handled it. It was three months ago, and it's kind of distracting talking about it still."
Despite the fact the incident occurred in December, Garcia said he was not informed of the suspension until the morning of USC's first spring practice. Garcia and redshirt sophomore quarterback Andrew Clifford, who was also suspended, were told by coach Steve Spurrier at a team meeting the Monday before spring practice began that Spurrier would talk with his coaching staff and make a decision on what form of discipline the two would receive.
The next day, Garcia learned his punishment.
"[Spurrier] called me Tuesday morning and left a voice mail," Garcia said. "I got that voice mail, and I kind of had to let it sink in. I couldn't really talk to him or call him back at that time, just because I was so distraught."
Garcia said the suspension came as a surprise.
"I thought [it was in the past], but it's [Spurrier's] team," Garcia said. "I accepted the fact I was suspended and had to move on."
The suspension was the third Garcia has received during spring practice in his career. He missed all of 2007's spring practices and most of the sessions in 2008. Garcia also had multiple run-ins with law enforcement during his first year on campus.
"Every single thing that I've done has been my fault," Garcia said. "I can't blame anybody else at all."
Accordingly, Garcia said he understands frustrations from fans and teammates about his actions.
"It's been a kind of bumpy five years since I've been here," he said. "I've got to stick with them. They've stuck with me throughout these whole five years. I've got a lot of respect for everybody."
Garcia later added, "Nothing bad is going to happen again. That's a guarantee."
The Tampa native said he received a tremendous amount of support from teammates after the suspension.
"I got a hundred thousand phone calls from everybody on the team saying, 'Don't worry about it,'" he said. "It's a family here, and I'm very happy to be here."
When asked how his oft-analyzed relationship with Spurrier is, Garcia said it has improved since the suspension.
"I think it's a lot better," he said. "We had a few conversations on the phone, and he told me what he expects."
Spurrier's expectations came in the form of "about 10 or 12" suggestions. One was for Garcia to cut his hair, which he has. The remainder of the tips will remain secret, however.
"It's pretty confidential," Garcia said. "But I took them to heart."
Garcia has started 28 consecutive games for the Gamecocks and has a 17-13 record for his career. The team's third all-time in passing yards, completions and passing touchdowns at USC, Garcia threw for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. As he heads into his final year as a Gamecock, Garcia said one thing is on his mind.
"Eat, sleep, drink and think about football and nothing else but football," said Garcia of his outlook. "That's what I'm doing, and I started as soon as [the Chick-fil-A Bowl] was over. That was a tough game to swallow, and I worked really hard in the winter workouts. The players voted me one of the [weight lifting] leaders on the team, so we're ready to get this 2011 season started."