Major League Football | Orlando taps QB Garcia as franchise player

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- It looks as if Stephen Garcia, the troubled quarterback out of South Carolina, will be the franchise player for the Orlando team in the new professional spring football league headquartered here.

MLFB announced its franchise players on Wednesday, and Garcia was selected by Orlando head coach Galen Hall.

The franchise players are year-round employees and will be the highest-paid players on their respective teams.

Each of the league's eight head coaches selected one franchise player. The MLFB has yet to sign an official agreement with any city and has not announced the teams to which each franchise player will be assigned.

However, MLFB has said it plans to have a franchise in Orlando, and Hall has coached two previous professional football teams in Orlando and is a former head coach at the University of Florida.

A graduate of Tampa Jefferson, Garcia had a checkered career at South Carolina. He led the Gamecocks to a victory against then top-ranked and undefeated Alabama. He threw for more 7,500 yards and ran for 777 yards in his career. He finished with 62 touchdowns (47 passing) while compiling a 20-14 record.

He was dismissed from the team for problems reportedly centered around alcohol issues after being suspended five times.

Now 27, he is trying to resurrect his once promising career and has said he is a changed person.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Major League Football | Orlando taps QB Garcia as franchise player ."