Jake Garcia, the well-traveled quarterback whose high school football career began in California and will end in Georgia, announced on Twitter on Thursday evening he had decommitted from the University of Southern California. The
Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) signal-caller is the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2021, according to 247Sports.
"I want to thank [Clay] Helton, [Graham] Harrell and [Seth] Doege and
the USC coaching staff for the opportunity to play at the next level.
However, after many discussions with my family and careful
consideration, I am de-committing from USC," Garcia wrote on Twitter.
The announcement comes on the eve of the Rams' second-round AAAAAAA playoff game against Harrison. Splitting time in four games with the Rams, Garcia has thrown for 690 yards on 31-of-52 passing and eight touchdowns.
Garcia has played previously at Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) and Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) before transferring to La Habra (Calif.) for what would've been his senior season. However, the California Interscholastic Federation pushed football to 2021 due to COVID-19 prompting Garcia and his father to move to Georgia and play for the Wildcats before potentially enrolling early at USC.
Playing for legendary coach Rush Propst, Garcia saw action in one contest for Valdosta, throwing for 240 yards and two scores as the Wildcats earned a season-opening 28-25 win over Warner Robins. Held out of the next two Valdosta games for what was termed a hamstring injury, Garcia was ruled ineligible by the Georgia High School Association following a two-week investigation and after an ESPN article revealed details of the family's move to Georgia. Randy Garcia told ESPN in September he had split with his wife to legitimize the move under Georgia rules.
The GHSA upheld its ruling, leading Garcia to transfer — and be ruled eligible — at Grayson, the state's second-ranked squad and national No. 4.
Jake Garcia, Grayson
Photo by Will Fagan
