Four-star offensive tackle, Isaiah Garcia, talks schools he hears from most in recruitment

Photo Courtesy of 247sports

Isaiah Garcia is the No. 1 ranked player in Utah, according to 247sports, and many west coast schools are pushing to keep him out west.

Garcia is a 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle from Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah. He recently transferred to Corner Canyon from Cyprus High School in Magna, Utah. According to 247sports, he is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in Utah, the No. 14 offensive tackle in the country, and the No. 163 overall recruit in the country.

As the offseason has been underway for some months now, Garcia has taken an effort in pursuing his recruitment. So far, he holds 20 Division-1 scholarship offers.

“Recruitment’s been real good. Ended up getting every Pac-[12] school that’s offered,” Garcia said. “It’s kind of a surreal experience to be in the position I’m in, and it’s been great. Getting to meet with the coaches and learn about the program, it’s been a good time.”

Being from out west, many of the schools in the Pac-12, and western schools in general have been pushing for him to stay on the west coast.

“Utah is definitely up there, USC, UCLA, Washington is a big one,” Garcia said. “Nebraska’s been really contacting me a lot, Stanford…a lot of schools are showing a lot of love right now, and there’s definitely a handful that are sticking out that are really pushing.”

But one school has been pushing harder than the rest: Utah. The Utes pushing harder than anyone for the top recruit in their own state makes perfect sense, but Garcia’s background with the Utes gives them even more of a reason to give a strong effort.

“I’ve taken a handful of unofficials to Utah. Obviously being in-state, the campus and facilities are like 20-25 minutes from my house. It’s been pretty easy to go up there, and my older brother actually played for the Utes for a couple years. So I had some connections with the coaches and players that are pretty unique to me.”

However, Garcia is keeping his mind open to everyone. He’s taken unofficials to USC, UCLA, and Washington so far this offseason. But his traveling this spring won’t stop there.

“This weekend I’m hitting up Oregon,” Garcia said. “There’s some other schools that I’m trying to get out to that I haven’t really confirmed yet.”

Garcia has handled his recruitment on his own terms thus far. He’s been able to manage talking to several schools while still adjusting to transferring to a new high school. Garcia has been enrolled at Corner Canyon for only a couple weeks.

“The transition was really good. Going into the first day, I was a little nervous,” Garcia said. “But once I got there, it was really good. All of the team accepted me. I really love all the teammates I’ve met so far. I’ve been lifting with them four days a week in the mornings. There’s just a different energy over there; it makes me want to go lift, it makes me want to go train with those boys.”

The grind has been worth it to Garcia. When it comes to winning over a new locker room, to navigating through the recruiting process and still trying to become a better player, he’s been able to do it all.

But Garcia knows the best is yet to come with a college decision potentially coming before his senior season, and an expected successful senior season with Corner Canyon.