Nick Garcia ends his career at Glendale College as record setting quarterback for the Vaqueros

Nick Garcia ends his career at Glendale College as record setting quarterback for the Vaqueros

Nick Garcia ends his career at Glendale College as record setting quarterback for the Vaqueros

The view from the press box at Sartoris Field was something that Nick Garcia had never seen before. Hundreds of yards away
from the field that had been his athletic home for the past two years of fall football games wearing No. 3 as the quarterback for
the Glendale College Vaqueros, he suddenly had a new perspective looking down at the expanse of green turf, endzones with
the word GLENDALE spelled out and bleachers where fans cheered his and his teammates' exploits at every home game.


Sitting in the empty area where the games were announced, the clock operated and his team's statistics were kept and
calculated, it was a reflective moment for the 20-year-old from John Burroughs High in Burbank who had recently broken the
over 23-year-old school record for career touchdown passes, topped 4,000 yards in career passing yardage for the Vaqs and was
on the verge of leading the team to a league title.


While the season did not end with him or his team celebrating the title, instead finishing the season with two straight losses and
a 5-5 record, the exploits of Garcia and how the unheralded 5-foot-9-inch quarterback from John Burroughs High became one
of the most prolific passers in school history was clearly a topic of conversation.


"With just two gamesleft in the regularseason, I never expected to accomplish all that I have but being underestimated because
of my size or anything else has kind of motivated me to overachieve and I guess that's what my legacy will be," said Garcia. "I
appreciate everything Glendale College has done for me, everything my teammates and I have been through together and what
the coaches have taught and prepared us for. I have loved every minute of wearing No. 3 and being a Vaquero."

Fast forwarding ahead a few weeks past the season ending losses to Citrus and Santa Ana colleges, Garcia can be proud of
etching his name in the GCC record book topped by his record 54 career touchdown passes besting the previous mark of 44 by
Mike Frost in 1998-99 and his 4,524 career yards, second only to Frost's 5,192.

Another interesting stat from Garcia's career is his 60.2 percent completion percentage, 353 passes completed out of 587 passes
attempted and in 2022 alone, he completed passes to 21 different receivers and he himself caught one pass as well.

"The quarterback always gets a lot of credit or blame, depending on how the wins and losses go but I was blessed to not only
have a great offensive line but receivers that I can't say enough about," said Garcia. "To have my locker right next to No. 1 Artis
Cole, No. 2 Nick Johnson and No. 4 Caleb Snowden, not only great players but great people, gave us the opportunity to bond
and connect that I will never forget.

The Nick Garcia File

  • Career leader in Touchdowns with 54
  • Second all-time with 4,524 career yards and yards
    passing in a season with 2,479 yards
  • Two-time SCFA Player of the Week
  • Selected as two-time Southern California Football
    Association Offensive Player of The Week 2021-22
  • Two-time All-Metro League Selection 2021-22