Photo Credit: The State.com/MCT/Getty Images
The State Newspaper has selected University of South
Carolina (USC) quarterback Connor Shaw as its 2013
South Carolina Amateur Athlete of the Year.
Shaw has an interesting and inspiring history. He joined the USC football roster as a 2nd
string quarterback in 2010 behind Stephen Garcia. Garcia was a much-beloved hero of the Gamecock
faithful, however over time his favor
began to wane.
Garcia was a comeback king who could seemingly
snatch a game victory in the last seconds.
The fans loved his feats on the field, but things changed when stories
of his antics off of the field began to overshadow his game performances. Even the “boys will be boys” crowd had to
take off their rose-colored glasses as more and more stories appeared about
Garcia in trouble. Finally in October
2011, Garcia
was once and for all dismissed from the Gamecock football roster.
Garcia had a promising college football career that
ended in shame. But what was his
misfortune turned out to be a window of opportunity for Connor Shaw. He went from being looked at as an “also ran”
to someone who could actually carry the team to victory. In a complete turnaround Garcia
became the backup quarterback to Shaw.
Shaw has earned this award several times over, even
surpassing hometown hero Todd Ellis’ long-held record for the winningest
quarterback in USC history. He is known
for his love of anything military, and is even considering a possible career in
the military, along with football. And
when a non-sports related story features Shaw, it is normally regarding some
event he is speaking at, or a charity he is working with. Gamecock fans will have one last opportunity to
see Shaw play in a USC uniform. He will
be leading the USC Gamecocks on January 1, 2014, as they face the Wisconsin Badgers
in the Capital One Bowl.
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