“He’s a very dedicated athlete,” Garcia says.

Both Garcias grew up with an appreciation of the gridiron. “All my uncles were high school or college football players and my Dad loved the game,” Garcia says.

Garcia’s father, in fact, was the one who initially urged him to get involved in football in high school.

“My father told me, ‘You’re only in high school once, go out for everything,’” recalls Garcia. “I just kind of chose football.”

Having never played football before, the former soccer player recalls, “I loved soccer, but I just got too big for it.”

A twist of fate brought Garcia to football first, and Harvard second. What does the future hold for the budding talent from South Florida?

“First of all we have a tough next seven games,” Garcia said. “After college, who knows? My dad’s a stock broker. I kind of like that game.”

The Crimson faithful will have to wait and see what’s in the cards for Brian Garcia. One thing is for sure, however. If he keeps playing like he has the past three Saturdays, the future will be very bright.

—Contributing writer Sean W. Coughlin can be reached at coughl@fas.harvard.edu.