Stephen Garcia and the Most Troubled Careers in College Football History

For all of the great moments college football gives us, there are a bunch of instances of players getting into trouble with their teams and with the law.

The latest player to go through this is South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia, who has been dismissed from the team for failing an alcohol test.

But who else seriously messed up during his time as a college football player? Here are some of the most notable.

Jeremiah Masoli

Masoli was one of the best players in the game in 2009 and led the Oregon Ducks to a Rose Bowl appearance. Then he and teammate Garrett Embry were arrested for second-degree burglary, which is a felony. He pled guilty and was suspended for the remainder of the season by head coach Chip Kelly.

But he wasn’t done. Later that year, he also pled guilty to marijuana possession and was then dismissed from the team. He transferred to Ole Miss, where he lost his opener to Jacksonville State and went 4-8 on the season.

Stephen Garcia

A number of players get in trouble for alcohol-related incidents, but Garcia has set himself apart with the sheer volume of incidents.

As a freshman in 2007, he was suspended from practice twice and ultimately from the university after being arrested for public intoxication, keying a professor’s car, faking a fire alarm and wrongfully discharging a fire extinguisher.

He returned in 2008 and was trouble-free until 2011, when he was suspended for a week for violating team rules during South Carolina’s Chick-fil-A Bowl trip. He was then suspended indefinitely for causing a disturbance at a mandatory SEC meeting. Alcohol was involved in both instances.

The final straw came today when Garcia was dismissed from the team after failing an alcohol test.

Maurice Clarett

Clarett’s troubles started at Ohio State when his temper got the better of him. He repeatedly yelled at coaches and administrators and was then the center of an academic scandal that was never proven.

Then he really got going. He filed a false police report saying over $10,000 worth of items were stolen from a car he “borrowed” from a local dealership and was dismissed from the university shortly thereafter.

But he wasn’t done yet. He robbed two people outside a nightclub at gunpoint, and while still on trial for that, he led police on a chase in his uncle’s SUV. Once he was subdued, officers found a katana, a zanbatō, a loaded AK-47 variant and two other loaded handguns in addition to an open bottle of vodka.

Wow.

Marcus Vick

The brother of Michael Vick, Marcus came to Virginia Tech as one of the highest-rated quarterbacks in the country. He quickly built a reputation as a criminal.

He was accused of having sex with a 15-year-old girl, which was eventually dropped. Charges of providing alcohol to minors stuck, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a fine of $2,250.

Later that same year Vick pled guilty to reckless driving and possession of marijuana and was suspended from the university.

He was allowed back in 2005 but had a number of on-field issues, including flipping off the West Virginia crowd at a game and stomping a Louisville player’s leg. After getting pulled over without a license for speeding, Virginia Tech finally kicked him out of the university for good.

After his dismissal, he had yet another string of run-ins with the law. Three days after his expulsion he was arrested; he was then charged with brandishing a firearm; then it was another underage girl saying Vick forced her to have sexual relations and offered to buy her alcohol and marijuana; then it was a DUI; and finally, he failed to complete an alcohol education class, testing positive for marijuana, missing appointments and not paying fines related to his DUI.

Lawrence Phillips

Phillips was a fantastic running back for Nebraska in the mid '90s but he will always be remembered for his trouble with the law.

Following a win at Michigan State, Phillips was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Tom Osborne was maligned in every possible way for not immediately dismissing him from the team, but he brought Phillips back, and he was ultimately a big part in the Huskers' 1995 national championship win.

After leaving Nebraska, Phillips continued his malicious streak. He was wanted by police in two domestic abuse incidents and then proceeded to hit three teenagers with his car. He was found guilty on seven counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

While serving that sentence, Philips was convicted for the assault on his then-girlfriend on seven counts, including assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat and auto theft.

Then in 2009, he was sentenced to more than 31 years in jail for all of his issues and is still there today.

Art Schlichter

Schlichter was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy from 1979 to 1982 for Ohio State, but his legacy will always be tainted by gambling.

He was frequently seen around Columbus with local bookies. The school looked into it but never went to the NCAA with it because there wasn’t enough evidence.

His escapades during the NFL make that hard to believe. He fell hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from his gambling addiction. He admitted to over 20 felony charges and was in and out of jail from 1995 to 2006. It was so bad that he got the public defender to smuggle in a cell phone so he could place bets.

Gambling wasn’t the only thing Schlichter fancied; he also stole, forged and was indicted this September on felony fraud charges stemming from a ticket scam.