USC Saturday Buzz: Let's Analyze Jake Garcia's Georgia Debut

Quarterback passed for 332 yards in first game since moving to Georgia

USC commit Jake Garcia, who moved to Georgia to play high school, made his much-anticipated debut Friday night.

Thankfully, Valdosta High School broadcast the game because if you read the Internet coverage, you would be told Garcia "shined" and threw "dimes."

That omits the two fumbles and interception Garcia had in the first half. Plus he was sacked 5-6 times behind a shaky offensive line.

And all of that was OK. It was the first game. Garcia was with new teammates. Of course it would be a sloppy debut.

My problem is when people try to overhype everything, especially with recruiting.

Garcia struggled at times and got lucky on a 56-yard TD that was too soft a pass and could have been picked off by a trio of defenders. But wide receiver Tajh Sanders (another transfer) jumped up and snagged the pass.

Garcia passed for 332 yards as Valdosta came back and defeated Warner Robins, 28-25. 

Overall, I thought Garcia was solid. For a player with his hype, maybe he should have played better but then again, it was Game 1. At his fourth high school. This time, the school was more than 2,300 miles from his house. So there were mitigating factors.

Remember another one-time USC commit, Matt Corral, went 4 for 15 for 75 yards and one TD in his third game in 2016. 

If there was a bright spot for Garcia, he took a lot of hits and favored his left ankle but stayed in the game. I don't think JT Daniels ever got hit at Mater Dei the way Garcia did Friday night.

An injury might matter if mid-year enrollees are eligible in January but it looks like the NCAA is going recommend they not be eligible so Garcia will not be able to play for USC in the spring, which I explained in the above video.