Going through the recruiting process you see many dynamic players listed without a position, the infamous ATH accompanies their name showcasing their versatility and overall athleticism. Generally these are skill players with great speed, ball skills, body control; or a mixture of all of these aspects.
Robby Garcia is an athlete, but not the kind you may think. A rising senior at Jesuit High School Garcia flourished on both sides of the ball playing tight end and defensive end. He compiled 6 pancake blocks, 31 tackles and 8 sacks during his junior season.
But his future is not at either position. Garcia is projected to be a college center or guard and is working to remain on a number of college radars in hopes of locking down some offers this spring.
“The recruiting process is confusing,” he says. “I’m talking to Miami, USF, Duke, Iowa State, Purdue and Ball State but I haven’t gotten any offers yet and that’s the confusing part. Everyone says they really like me, but they must not love me.”
Garcia, 6-3 250 lbs, stepped in mid-season to fill a void on the offensive line where he completed 6 pancake blocks in 4 games. He has since won the Offensive Lineman MVP award at a local combine all the while not really knowing how to play the position.
“Right now I’m penciled in as a tight end and defensive lineman [for Jesuit],” he says. “But that could all change after Spring Ball. If our offensive line is weak and we have depth at tight end I might play more guard.”
Academics are a high-priority for the 2012 BHSN/BCP Ignite participant. Garcia is receiving interest from a number of Ivy League Schools and hopes to visit Duke, Stanford, UNC, Clemson, Furman and Georgia this offseason.
“Academics are very high,” Garcia says. “I’ve gotten mail from Princeton and Harvard. What better education is there?”
Garcia turned in impressive times at the Ignite Combine including a 28.5” vertical, 25 bench reps, 4.88s short shuttle and 7.81s in the 3cone drill.
“Right now I’m just focusing on academics, training and football.”
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Kyle is a recruiting analyst for Big County Preps. You can email him at kbennett.ut.@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @KyleBennettBCP.