Aaron Garcia
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Aaron Garcia is an Arena football quarterback in the Arena Football League.
Garcia is a native of Sacramento, California, and he played high school football with his father as coach at Grant High School in Sacramento, California, where he shattered John Elway’s California state high school passing, yardage and touchdown records with a two-year prep total of 5,800 yards and 57 touchdown passes.
He went to Washington State University in 1989, and started as a red-shirt freshman, contributing 1,591 yards and 11 TD passes, leading the Pac-10 in passing efficiency that year. During that year, quarterbacking duties also were shared by junior Brad Gossen, who threw for 1,372 yards and nine TDs in an injury shortened season, prior to Garcia being named the starter. In 1990, a mid-season quarterback controversy erupted when second-year coach Mike Price benched veterans Brad Gossen and Aaron Garcia in favor of true-freshman (and eventual NFL star) Drew Bledsoe.
After Drew Bledsoe's emergence at Washington State in 1990, Garcia transferred to 1-AA Sacramento State and finished his college football career as the starter there, throwing for 1,798 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior season.
Following his college career, he turned to Arena Football. He played for the Arizona Rattlers in 1995, and then moved on to the Connecticut Coyotes in 1996. He'd change teams again in 1997, playing for the New Jersey Red Dogs. He played for the Red Rogs for a year and a half before joining the Iowa Barnstormers during the 1998 season. Garcia finally settled down in Iowa, and found his greatest success when the Barnstormers became the New York Dragons in 2001. In the 2001 season, Garcia threw a league record 104 touchdown passes.
Garcia briefly left the AFL in 2002, when he was signed by the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. He was released in the summer, and returned to the Dragons, who finished 3-11 that year.
On February 26, 2006, Garcia suffered a fractured tibia and fibula, ending his season. He was replaced by Juston Wood and later Nick Browder. At the time of the injury, Garcia had thrown more touchdown passes than any pro quarterback, but Andy Kelly and Clint Dolezel moved ahead of him while he was sidelined.
| Year | Team | Comp | ATT | % | YDS | TD | INT | QB Rat. | |
| 1995 | Arizona Rattlers | 175 | 284 | 61.62 | 2,416 | 43 | 8 | 114.99 | |
| 1996 | Connecticut Coyotes | 136 | 271 | 50.18 | 1,779 | 31 | 4 | 93.70 | |
| 1997 | New Jersey Red Dogs | 76 | 138 | 55.07 | 950 | 16 | 7 | 84.51 | |
| 1998 | New Jersey Red Dogs | 91 | 140 | 65.00 | 1,158 | 18 | 5 | 107.98 | |
| 1998 | Iowa Barnstormers | 200 | 343 | 58.31 | 2,457 | 43 | 9 | 100.93 | |
| 1999 | Iowa Barnstormers | 283 | 468 | 60.47 | 3,815 | 68 | 15 | 109.41 | |
| 2000 | Iowa Barnstormers | 270 | 466 | 57.94 | 4,026 | 92 | 8 | 118.79 | |
| 2001 | New York Dragons | 368 | 529 | 69.57 | 4,515 | 104 | 16 | 122.60 | |
| 2002 | New York Dragons | 112 | 188 | 59.57 | 1,390 | 29 | 9 | 101.15 | |
| 2003 | New York Dragons | 329 | 513 | 64.13 | 4,279 | 100 | 10 | 121.74 | |
| 2004 | New York Dragons | 279 | 459 | 60.78 | 3,797 | 91 | 13 | 114.99 | |
| 2005 | New York Dragons | 345 | 516 | 66.86 | 4,112 | 90 | 13 | 120.09 | |
| 2006 | New York Dragons | 121 | 157 | 77.07 | 1,417 | 32 | 4 | 132.88 | |
| Career | 2,785 | 4,472 | 62.28 | 36,111 | 757 | 121 | 115.94 |