Huskies' Garcia says his season likely over

By MOLLY YANITY
P-I REPORTER

The news wasn't good and it was splashed on Juan Garcia's stunned face like cold water: The likelihood the sixth-year center plays another meaningful snap for the Huskies is slim.

"I got the CT scan and they gave me a little glimpse of hope, told me to go see a foot doctor (Tuesday) and then I was there, had my hopes up and kind of got them crushed," Garcia said.

Garcia, who has started 25 consecutive games for the Huskies, suffered a Lisfranc sprain to his left foot in a scrimmage last Friday.

He is now faced with two options, and neither puts him on the field much -- if at all -- in 2008.

The Yakima native can have immediate surgery, rehabilitate the foot and possibly return for the Huskies' final regular-season game or thereabouts.

Or, he could wait and see if the foot begins to heal properly over the next four weeks. That option is risky. If it heals well, he could begin rehabilitation that could have him game-ready by midseason. But, if it doesn't, he would have to undergo surgery and certainly would miss the entire season.

"There's a 60 percent chance it won't heal," he said.

"If I wait for that surgery at the end of four weeks and everything doesn't go good, that's the end of that," he said.

"So maybe I'll go for surgery so I can say bye to the fans and come in for a play or two and say goodbye to the fans and say I was a Husky football player."

Garcia said he planned to weigh both scenarios Tuesday night and make a decision Wednesday.

"It's a little sad, a little heart-breaking," he said with tears welling in his eyes.

The injury occurred on a second-effort at the goal-line, Garcia said.

"The handoff went to the fullback and he got stuffed at the line of scrimmage and I thought, 'We've got to punch this in,' " he said. "So I hit the line and the linebackers were pushing. Then all those guys just jumped on and started pushing the other way and my leg got caught in the turf and my knee started going one way and I just felt it snap, just feeling everything rip.

"I just knew from the get-go it wasn't going to be good."

Garcia also said he sprained his left knee on the play.

Garcia was granted a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after missing the '04 and '05 season with injuries that also were suffered during the spring.

With one degree in tow, Garcia could have opted for the NFL this season instead of taking the sixth year. After earning second team All-Pac-10 last season, he was likely a second-day draft pick if not a free agent pick-up.

But second guesses have still crept into his mind over the past couple days.

"It's going to cross my mind, but I thought I could have been a better player," he said. "One of my main goals was to leave the University of Washington as an elite lineman. The O-line has been a question mark and been embarrassing and then we've kind of been building momentum and I've been taking pride in that.

"It just kind of breaks me up that I've got to watch (the continued improvement) from the sidelines. ... I just had a feeling I could have been special."

Garcia's experience and leadership were staples of an offensive line projected to be a strength of the 2008 Huskies with a group that has 75 total starts under its belt.

Barring a medical miracle -- and Garcia did call himself the "Comeback King" -- that number will dip to 50 with sophomore Matt Sedillo taking over at center.

Sedillo has played just one play, taking a snap at USC.

From Escondido, Calif., Sedillo is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds and began his college career at guard.

Sedillo said he feels more experienced than a year ago and he has gleaned a lot of information from upperclassmen.

"Juan has helped me out a lot and he has taught me everything when I came (over) to center," he said. "He taught me everything he could teach me."

Sedillo said there is an excitement and bigger sense of responsibility he will take with him into the summer now that the starting center job is his to lose.

"Yeah. No slip-ups, no messing up, nothing," he said.

HASTY SUSPENDED AGAIN: Tailback J.R. Hasty has been suspended from the team, coach Tyrone Willingham said Tuesday.

"(Hasty's) status, as it stands for the spring game, is that he will probably not play and I have not made a final decision on what his status will be with the football team," Willingham said.

He would answer no further questions on the subject.

Hasty had already missed the first seven spring practices for "not living up to football responsibilities," as Willingham put it.

The former Bellevue High record-setter briefly quit the team last October after being passed over on the depth chart by freshmen Brandon Johnson and Curtis Shaw. He re-joined the team days later and said at the time, "Things are going to change."

With Hasty out of the picture, the Huskies will have just three tailbacks for Saturday's spring game.

"We've said all spring we like Brandon Johnson, (Brandon)Yakaboski, Willie Griffin and the things they've done," Willingham said.

If Hasty returns for the fall, he will also have to battle four incoming freshmen listed as running backs for depth chart positioning.

EXTRA POINTS: Willingham said the spring game will consist of four 15-minute quarters with a running clock. He also said the 40-second clock would be used. ... Cornerbacks Byron Davenport and Vonzell McDowell have dropped to second string with Mesphin Forrester and Quinton Richardson now playing with the first team. Richardson, a redshirt freshman, said, "I know that I worked a lot harder than a couple of the older guys, or some of the guys that were ahead of me last year and played. I know I worked on my technique a lot."