Spurrier: "Stephen Got Himself Into a Tough Spot"


Daytona, Florida - USC head football coach Steve Spurrier has commented for the first time about the arrest of Stephen Garcia over the weekend.

Spurrier spoke to reporters while attending Sunday's Daytona 500 in Florida.

"It appears Stephen got himself in a bad spot," Spurrier said. "He told me it was the worst day of his life because he was in the tank for about a day, over a day."

Stephen Garcia was arrested around 1 am Saturday morning after an incident outside the Knock Knock club in Five Points.

An incident reports states that early Saturday morning, someone called police saying they'd seen Stephen Garcia involved in some kind of altercation. The report goes on to say that when officers attempted to talk to Stephen Garcia about the incident, he ran behind a building and attempted to conceal himself in an alley. The officer said Stephen Garcia turned toward him in a threatening manner, and the officer acutally pulled out his baton. Stephen Garcia then submitted, and was taken into custody. The arresting officers also said it appeared Stephen Garcia had been drinking.

Stephen Garcia was booked at the Richland County jail and released Saturday night on a personal recognizance bond. He's charged with failure to stop on police command and public drunkenness.

"Hopefully he learned his lesson," Spurrier says. "We'll wait until all the facts come in before we decide what kind of punishment."

Stephen Garcia is one of the star players in USC's highly-rated 2007 recruiting class. He was one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation according to several recruiting Web Sites.

He graduated from high school early to enroll at USC for the current semester.

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