SEATTLE — Juan Garcia has made two comebacks from major injuries in his Washington football career.
On Thursday, the Huskies’ starting center and captain announced he is hoping for one more comeback before he leaves the UW behind. This comeback — “The last comeback,” he’s calling it — is far from a sure thing.
Garcia, who suffered a Lisfranc injury to his left foot last Friday, has opted against surgery to see if the foot will start to heal on its own. Doctors have given him just a 40 percent chance of that working, and if in that time — Garcia said he’ll get his cast off and be reevaluated on May 23 — his foot is not healing on its own, he will need surgery that, with the four-week delay, will almost certainly end his Washington career.
If things go well and the foot starts to heal, Garcia said he could be running by the end of June and, in a best-case scenario, he could be back after missing just two or three games.
“I went for the miracle healing,” said Garcia, who was in much better spirits Thursday than when he spoke with the media Tuesday. “That’s what I’m calling it right now. I’ve been joking around that I have no religion. I believe in all religions. There’s got to be one that works. It’s all or nothing I guess. Four weeks, and if it shows signs of healing, we’ll rehab it and see if I can come back. If not, that’s the end of that.”
Garcia joked that he’s willing to try anything, and might see an acupuncturist and an “Asian medicine man” in addition to his regular doctors.
“I’m telling you man, I’m going all out,” said Garcia, who was wearing a cast on his left foot that was covered in purple signatures of teammates. “If I go, I know I’m going to go out with a fight… It’s all or nothing now.”
Had Garcia opted for surgery right away, he might have made it back late in the season, but he likely wouldn’t have been far enough along to have a meaningful role, making his return more symbolic than anything.
“I want to wear the uniform one last time, and I want it to be meaningful,” he said. “I don’t want to wear it just to say bye. I actually want to make a difference and help the team out.”
On Tuesday, when the severity of Garcia’s injury became known, the University of Washington set up a page on Gohuskies.com that allowed fans to send their well wishes to Garcia. Hundreds of fans have since posted notes, and Garcia said that goodwill has helped him through another tough injury.
During the spring of 2004, Garcia broke his fibula and dislocated his ankle, ending his 2004 season before it got started. He missed the entire 2005 season with a torn labrum, and because of the two injuries he was granted a sixth year of eligibility. He said reading the positive messages helped him decide to fight for a third comeback.
“I was overwhelmed,” he said. “I take peeks at it here and there, but they just tear me up. I read it and didn’t realize how much people care about me. I read the messages I’ve gotten, and that’s one of the things that has helped me get through this. I was like, ‘People really love me and they enjoyed watching me play.’ It made me really proud to be a Husky.”
“I just wanted to say thanks to them, they really helped me get through this one. That’s one of the reasons I’m still hanging in there. I was thinking when I got injured that this is it. I’ll just finish out this year and go on with my life, but after seeing that, it gave me hope. You know what, let’s just fight it one more time. I call it the last comeback.”
Notes
Secondary shaping up: Secondary coach J.D. Williams said that he has been pleased with what he has seen out of the cornerbacks and safeties this spring.
Williams said two of the pleasant surprises have been walk-on safety Tripper Johnson, who turns 26 next week and has been away from football since high school, and sophomore safety Victor Aiyewa, who has spent a good deal of the spring working with the first-string defense.
The Huskies have used a pair of converted safeties — Quinton Richardson and Mesphin Forrester — at cornerback, and both have been running with the first team lately. Williams said that their playing on the first string is not necessarily a sign that they have beaten out cornerbacks like Byron Davenport, Vonzell McDowell, Jr., and Matt Mosley for starting jobs.
“I know Byron can play, I’ve got to find out who else can play,” Williams said when asked if Davenport had been demoted. “And you want the other guys running with the veteran group, see how they act with the first group. I told them the depth chart is etched in sand. It’s forever changing. They understand that.”
Spring fling is Saturday: There is a lot happening at the UW Saturday in addition to the 12:45 spring game, which is free.
The alumni association is hosting a pancake breakfast in the east end zone from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ($8 for alumni association member, $10 for non member).
There is a season ticket open house from 11 a.m. to 12:30 in Dempsey Indoor for fans interested in buying season tickets.
And for people who want to see more than football, there is a baseball game vs. UCLA at 2 p.m., the women’s soccer alumni game at noon, and a volleyball scrimmage at 11:30 a.m.
Parking is free on campus after noon.
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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