| No. 10, 9, 15 | |||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1965-07-10)July 10, 1965 (age 60) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Harlingen (TX) | ||||||||
| College | UTEP | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: 8th round, 216th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Samuel Mayorga Garza Jr. (born July 10, 1965) is an American former professionalfootballquarterback in theNational Football League (NFL) for theSt. Louis Cardinals. He also was a member of theWinnipeg Blue Bombers andOttawa Rough Riders in theCanadian Football League (CFL). He playedcollege football for theUTEP Miners and was selected by theSeattle Seahawks in the eighth round of the1987 NFL draft.
Garza attendedHarlingen High School. As a senior, he posted 85-of-160 completions (56 percent) for 1,650 yards, 17 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He was a two-time All-district 32-5A selection.[1] He led his teams to a 30-10 record during his career, but never had a chance to participate in the playoffs because only one team could qualify at the time.
He was a two-time All-district selection inbasketball. As a senior, he received All-district honors atbaseball and was the districtlong jump champion.
Garza accepted a football scholarship fromUTEP. As a freshman, he was named the starter at quarterback until, suffering a dislocated right shoulder in the sixth game against theUniversity of Hawaii.[2] He registered 39-of-66 completions for 437 yards, 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
He regained the starter position at quarterback as a sophomore, passing for 899 yards, 4 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a sophomore, he compiled 1,654 yards, 6 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. As a senior, he had a record setting season, posting 258 completions, 62.9% completion percentage, 3,140 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
He finished his college career as one of the most prolific passers in school history, ranking first in completions (483) and completion percentage (59.1%). He ranked second in attempts (817), passing yards (6,130) and touchdown passes (35).[3]
After being selected by theSeattle Seahawks in the eighth round (216th overall) of the1987 NFL draft.[4] He was waived on September 1, 1987.[5]
After theNFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the1987 season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and theNFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. In September, Garza was signed to be a part of theSt. Louis Cardinals replacement team.[6] He started one contest during the replacement games and remained on the roster as a backup after the strike ended. On August 23, 1988, he was released before the start of the season, after being passed on the depth chart by rookieTom Tupa.[7]
In 1991, he was drafted in the second round by theFrankfurt Galaxy of theWorld League of American Football.[8]
The brightest spot in Garza's career came in1993, when he replaced an injuredMatt Dunigan in Week 17 of the season. He led theWinnipeg Blue Bombers to a 20-19 victory over theHamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final. Garza's success was short lived, as the team lost theGrey Cup 33-23 to theEdmonton Eskimos.[9]
Garza tore his ACL early in the 1994 season in Winnipeg, and spent the next 8 months recovering from that injury. In July 1995, he was traded to theOttawa Rough Riders along with offensive linemanDavid Black, in exchange for quarterbackShawn Moore.[10] Even though he spent his time splitting the quarterback duties withDanny Barrett, he still managed to finish the season with 2,954 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. On May 25, 1996, he was signed by theOttawa Rough Riders, but was released before the start of the season.[11]
In 1996, he joined theUTEP coaching staff as a defensive graduate assistant. In 1997, he was promoted towide receivers coach. In 1998, he was hired as the wide receivers coach forSaskatchewan Roughriders. In 1999, he was promoted to quarterbacks/receivers coach.
In 2000, he returned to UTEP as the quarterbacks coach. He was let go with the entire UTEP staff after the 2003 season. In 2004, he joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the quarterbacks and running backs coach.
In 2005, he was hired as a pro scout by theDallas Cowboys. In 2008, he moved to the College Scouting Department, serving as the southwest area scout (2008-2009), west coast scout (2010-2011) and back to southwest scout in 2012.[12] He works with his brother in law Mike Murphy, son ofCanadian Football Hall of FamerCal Murphy.
