Max Garcia Named Finalist for Pop Warner National College Football Award
Thursday, November 20, 2014 | Football
Florida senior center Max Garcia was named one of five finalists for the 2014 Pop Warner National College Football Award, announced on Thursday. University of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Stanford University safety Jordan Richards and University of Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah are the other finalists.
The award will be presented December 10 at Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports during the Pop Warner Super Bowl.
Garcia is a redshirt senior from Norcross, Ga., who has started 21-straight games for the Gators. He made the transition to center prior to 2014 and has graded out 97 percent in 635 total plays this year. He has been named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice this season and is a candidate for the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation's top center.
Off the field, Garcia has devoted over 50 hours to community service across the 2013-14 academic year. He has worked with the Caleb's Pitch Organization doing syringe art with patients, made several special visits with hospitalized youth, worked with the State of Florida Special Olympics Basketball Tournament and volunteered with the Adopt-A-Team program, which encourages student-athletes to support each other. In addition, Max maintains a 3.03 GPA and is studying Family, Youth and Community Sciences.
The Pop Warner College Football Award honors a player who has contributed at a high level on the field, in the classroom and in his community, emulating the ideals of Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc., the nation's oldest youth football organization.
“Some may look at this group of finalists and immediately recognize them as among the nation's best players, and they are. But at Pop Warner we also see them as outstanding young men who represent their college, family and community properly on and off the field,” said Jon Butler, Executive Director of Pop Warner Little Scholars. “We created the Pop Warner National College Football Award to honor a student-athlete who stands as a positive example for our young athletes and these young men do just that. They aren't alone. We are proud to have received nominations of many exceptional student-athletes from across the country.”
The inaugural award was presented in 2010 to former University of Nebraska cornerback and current New York Giant Prince Amukamara. Subsequent recipients were former University of Virginia and current Washington Redskins cornerback Chase Minnifield, former Duke University and current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Sean Renfree and last year to former Purdue University wide receiver Gary Bush.
