By Liam Smith | College of Charleston

I know the title of this article sounds like a joke, but God damn it, I mean that with all of my heart. Stephen Garcia will always have a special place in my heart, not because of his undeniable raw talent, but because he truly embodies what it means to be a college celebrity. I’m talking Blue Mountain State shit. You think Manziel was crazy, well Garcia was straight hell on wheels throughout college. Dude came in as a highly-touted freshman talent but quickly found himself suspended after being arrested for public intoxication. Then, only a month later, he received another suspension for keying one of his professor’s cars after allegedly receiving a bad grade in his class. By the end of his college career, he had been suspended a total of 5 times. And yes, with all that being said, I still feel he is the perfect college QB and here’s why: he’s just like any other college student and he just happened to be one of the most important athletes on campus. So instead of being fake and proper like every other star athlete, he let it loose and kept it real. Also, keep in mind that even with his antics, he still posted some impressive feats in his tenure at South Carolina. Below are 5 stats/reasons Stephen Garcia was the ideal college QB:

1. The Man is an Absolute Savage and a Legend on Campus

Garcia was always known for his off-the-field antics and for being the life of the party. This, however, resulted in a total of three arrests and five suspensions, one for keying a University Professor’s car and another two for underage drinking and public intoxication. His off the field appearances truly made him a man of the people (or maybe just the rowdy college kids), and on top of that, he still managed to win games.

**UPDATE – The keying of the professor’s car never happened per The Man himself**

2. Despite the Partying, He Still Had a Very Solid College Career

Garcia finished his college career with a 20-14 record as a starter. He also managed to throw for 7,597 passing yards with 47 touchdowns, 777 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. Not too shabby for a juvenile delinquent with a dad-bod and beer gut.

3. The Man Fucking Slays (or at least he did in college)

During the Garcia era, there wasn’t a single girl on campus that didn’t want a piece of the dad-bod sporting, Jesus-looking,

4. He Dethroned No.1 Alabama When Everyone Doubted Him

Undoubtedly the best game of Garcia’s career was when he went 17-for-20 with 201 yards and three touchdowns, thus leading the Gamecocks to a monumental 35-21 win over No. 1 Alabama in 2010. It’s all fun and games until you realize that some glorified frat star was able to tear apart one of the best defenses in college football.

5. He Doesn’t Give a Fuck About Anything

He didn’t care what anyone thought about him in college, and he sure as hell doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks about him now. And that’s the true beauty of Stephen Garcia. A true anti-hero of college sports. Everything he did was wrong, but you couldn’t help but root for the guy because deep down you can tell he’s a real guy. Don’t get me wrong, there were way better players than Garcia, skill-wise, in college history, but not many that you could sit and have a beer with. That’s why, in my mind, he represents everything a college QB should be: social, real, and of course, the big man on campus.

Also P.S. Good luck in the Canadian league, Steve.