Bloomsburg football

[Bart]

Bloom adds Garrett Garcia 6'0" 215 rb/lb Southern Columbia H.S. 2A Class Player of the Year with 1,762 yards and 28 touchdowns. He finished with 128 tackles, including 14 for a loss. 3X All State selection. video: https://www.hudl.com/profile/14783025/Garrett-Garcia

Aaron Johnson 5'11" 170 wr Danville H.S. 65 catches for 1,470 yards, but the biggest number was his 28 touchdown catches which is a PIAA State record.

video: https://www.hudl.com/profile/1798206/Aaron-Johnson

[EyeoftheHawk]

Bloom adds Garrett Garcia 6'0" 215 rb/lb Southern Columbia H.S. 2A Class Player of the Year with 1,762 yards and 28 touchdowns. He finished with 128 tackles, including 14 for a loss. 3X All State selection. video: https://www.hudl.com/profile/14783025/Garrett-Garcia

Aaron Johnson 5'11" 170 wr Danville H.S. 65 catches for 1,470 yards, but the biggest number was his 28 touchdown catches which is a PIAA State record.

video: https://www.hudl.com/profile/1798206/Aaron-Johnson

A couple good players landed there. I’m still surprised Garcia didn’t go D1 but he got bit by the injury bug at a tough time for his recruitment. He has the size and athleticism to play at that level but it looked like his only D1 offers were FCS (Duquesne and Robert Morris). I’m sure the transfer portal didn’t help him either.

Sadly my first thought was I wonder how long they’ll stay. It would be good to see Bloom get back into the mix as a contender in the conference.

[Bart]

A couple good players landed there. I’m still surprised Garcia didn’t go D1 but he got bit by the injury bug at a tough time for his recruitment. He has the size and athleticism to play at that level but it looked like his only D1 offers were FCS (Duquesne and Robert Morris). I’m sure the transfer portal didn’t help him either.

Sadly my first thought was I wonder how long they’ll stay. It would be good to see Bloom get back into the mix as a contender in the conference.

Right. He missed his junior year with an injury. Teams looking at the portal before recruiting high school players. He may still look at trying to wrestle too.

[iupgroundhog]

Right. He missed his junior year with an injury. Teams looking at the portal before recruiting high school players. He may still look at trying to wrestle too.

He could be a 2 sport athlete at Bloom but I think he would have to get down to 197 for wrestling. If he's healthy I could see him being dominant in the PSAC on offense or defense (FB).

[iupgroundhog]

He could be a 2 sport athlete at Bloom but I think he would have to get down to 197 for wrestling. If he's healthy I could see him being dominant in the PSAC on offense or defense (FB).

I remember a few years ago having the same conversation about his brother, Gaige. Football, wrestling, or both? I think they are more of a wrestling family as his dad was a 3x state champ.

Garrett was state runner-up at 189 in 2024 so I assume he would have no problem as a 197 lb'er in college.

[jrshooter]

Garrett Garcia is next-level. Huge get, Blooms. Now get the ball in his hands, and early.

I saw him produce a couple of TD kick returns last fall that were just sick.

[Bart]

Garrett Garcia is next-level. Huge get, Blooms. Now get the ball in his hands, and early.

I saw him produce a couple of TD kick returns last fall that were just sick.

He also had 444 tackles in 3 years. Could be a good LB. Where to play him?

[Bart]

College Football: Garcia opts to continue his football career close to home

• By MARC MALKOSKIE THE NEWS-ITEM

Garrett Garcia didn’t just have the luxury of picking where he is going to college, he also had the ability of picking which sport he wanted to play once he gets there.


After an extra long recruiting process, the Southern Columbia senior has finally reached a decision, as Bloomsburg University announced Monday that Garcia signed on to continue his football career for the Huskies.


That decision for the Garcia wasn’t easy, nor was it clear-cut.

In the fall, it seemed like college football was a lock for Garcia, after he led the Tigers to their seventh consecutive state title on the gridiron and state-record 14th overall, earning Pennsylvania Class 2A Player of the Year honors in the process.


But the surprising lack of interest among college programs at the time only further fueled his fire as he made his return to the wrestling mat for the first time since his sophomore year after he missed his entire junior wrestling season and all but one play of that year’s football season due to suffering a knee injury on the season-opening kickoff at Berwick.


To say Garcia was dominant in that return to wrestling would still be an understatement, as he won each of his first 33 matches, earning bonus points in 27 of 30 contested victories, with 24 of them resulting in a pin.


His lone loss occurred in the Class 2A 189-pound gold-medal bout, as he dropped an 8-7 decision to Huntingdon’s Andrew McMonagle after controlling the first two periods of the match.


After finishing his senior campaign with a 33-1 record, his second sectional, district and regional titles and his second state top-5 finish, a wave of Division 1 wrestling interests poured into Garcia’s inbox.


He took an official visit to at least Rutgers last month, while also talking to coaches on notable staffs like Oregon State, West Virginia, North Carolina State and Northern Colorado.


It wasn’t long after the PIAA season ended that those close to Garcia strongly believed wrestling was going to be the sport he chose to pursue collegiate. .


But rather than rush to a decision like some recruits his age tend to do, Garcia patiently weighed his options before ultimately deciding Frank Sheptock’s Huskies were the right fit for him.


“I just think my love for both sports pulled me both ways at different points of the recruiting process, but I think the fact that I had the opportunity to play so close to home and play for a coach that wanted me was important to seal my decision,” Garcia said Thursday.

While his closest notable Division 1 wrestling offer was the 2.5-hour trek east to Piscataway, New Jersey, Garcia — who has had as strong of a family contingent as any in terms of attendance at his sporting events — valued the adjacency that Bloomsburg is able to provide, with a campus just a quick 25-minute drive from his home outside of Numidia.


By electing to play football at the next level, Garcia is following in the footsteps set by his two older brothers.




Gaige, the oldest of four total Garcia brothers, initially committed to Michigan for both football and wrestling before eventually transferring to Lehigh to be a starting running back for the Mountain Hawks.


Gavin, who graduated in 2022, is entering his junior season as a running back for Kent State after leading the Golden Flashes in carries (138) and rushing yards (544) last season.


Garrett’s situation entering college is unique from the previous two Garcias, however, as Bloomsburg is still open to him playing as either a running back or a linebacker, and for good reason.


The soon-to-be Husky is just the third player in Southern Columbia’s illustrious history to eclipse 400 career tackles, joining All-Big Ten linebacker Cal Haladay — who is entering his fifth year as a starter for Michigan State — and current Tigers junior Dominic Fetterolf, who flanked Garcia at the inside linebacker position.


Garcia finished with 128 tackles this past fall, 14 of which resulted in a loss, including three sacks.


However, Southern coach Jim Roth also called upon Garcia to take up the team’s fullback vacancy this season, the first time the 6-feet-tall, 220-pounder lined up in an offensive backfield since his junior-high days.



Despite not being in the role for at least four years, Garcia did not disappoint, bullying his way for team-highs in rushing yards (1,762), rushing touchdowns (28) and carries (212), with 482 of those yards and a half-dozen of those touchdowns being tallied in the final four games while he was battling separate knee and ankle injuries.


Few, if any, Division 2 football players play on both sides of the ball, so it’s unlikely Garcia will continue playing both ways. His role on the Huskies will likely be finalized after playing out summer practices.


After being one of four District 4 players in Bloomsburg’s most recent recruiting class, Garcia will be one of 13 young men from his district suiting up for the Huskies this fall.


In terms of The News-Item’s coverage area, he’ll be joined by his high school classmate Louden Murphy (safety/running back), as well as three current of former Mount Carmel players — fellow 2024 recruit Xavier Diaz (wide receiver), and redshirt freshmen Garrett Varano (wide receiver) and Kelin Geary (fullback).


The team is also returning third-year starting quarterback KJ Riley, who was an all-stater for Danville.


“I’m very excited to play with kids I grew up playing with and against,” Garcia said. “I think the football in this area is really good, and I’m very glad a lot of District 4 kids are getting the chance to play at the next level.”


Even Coach Sheptock, who is entering his fifth year and fourth season at the helm of Bloomsburg’s program, has local ties, as he was born in Shamokin and graduated from Mount Carmel Area in 1982 before going on to be a three-time All-American for the Huskies as a linebacker, later being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Sounds like his heart is in football. Regardless, I can’t think of two sports tougher than football and wrestling if you’re going to be a dual sport athlete. Other than a couple bites by the injury bug, he’s been dominant in both sports when healthy. I think Bloom is getting a D1 quality player.

[Huskie14]

He also had 444 tackles in 3 years. Could be a good LB. Where to play him?

For the coming year there is a larger need at RB as there is a solid group of LB's. I'm sure they are trying to find a reliable replacement for Monaco.

[Bart]

For the coming year there is a larger need at RB as there is a solid group of LB's. I'm sure they are trying to find a reliable replacement for Monaco.

About 7 on the roster, including a transfer from Sacred Heart. They recruited 5 more, so maybe they will find someone.

[Bart]

Appears (nothing official) Bloom hired Zach Martin as Special Teams/Recruiting Coordinator, Linebackers Coach.

Zach Martin begins his secomd season as the Linebackers Coach and Special Teams Coordinator and his first season as Recruiting Coordinator for the Wheeling University Football team in 2023.

In 2021, Martin's Linebackers set several program records, and both Jason Simon and Jayvon Johnson earned All-MEC honors under his watch. Johnson and Simon were the team's leading tacklers on the season, with Johnson setting the career total tackle (223), Solo Tackle (129), and Assisted Tackles (94) record. On special teams, the Cardinal's Field Goal unit was one of the best in the conference, with Kicker Matt Greenwood going 13-16 in Field Goal attempts, including kicking a program record 49-yard field goal.

As Recruiting Coordinator, Martin worked closely with the Cardinal's different camps throughout the summer of 2023, with both seeing exponential growth. Martin helped bring over 300 atheltes from the surrounding region to campus through the Elite Camp and Friday Night Lights camps. He was also selected to represent Wheeling Football at the 2023 Ohio High School Football Coaches Association (OHFCA) Coaches Clinic.

Prior to Wheeling, Martin served as the Special Teams Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at SUNY Morrisville from March 2022 to August 2022 where he helped run the team's special teams packages and assisted in training the linebackers for the season. He also spent a season as the Quality Control coach at Lehigh University from March 2020 to August 2020.

Prior to Clarion University, He spent the 2019 season at #15 ranked Susquehanna University where he coached the Outside Linebackers and helped lead the team to a 10-1 record.

Martin was a linebacker at Susquehanna University in his playing days.

[Bart]

Bloom appears to be advertising for a new wrestling coach. I know Stutzman's name was mentioned on here before.

[iupgroundhog]

Bloom appears to be advertising for a new wrestling coach. I know Stutzman's name was mentioned on here before.

I haven't seen that yet but it seems like the program is a mess.

[Bart]

I haven't seen that yet but it seems like the program is a mess.

https://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs/202...restling-coach

https://commonwealthu.peopleadmin.com/postings/2347