National Football Foundation

Clay Garcia is among the best in every activity he tackles - proven by his near-perfect GPA in mechanical engineering or as a finalist for the 2010 Harlon Hill Trophy. He becomes Colorado School of Mines' fourth NFF National Scholar-Athlete and first since 1974.

Hailing from Alamosa, Colo., Garcia is a unanimous two-time First Team Academic All-Rocky Mountain Conference pick and was a CoSIDA/ESPN First Team Academic All-American in 2010. He was named the RMAC Football Academic Player of the Year that same year, and he has qualified for the Dean's List every semester of his college career. A member of the Tau Beta Pi honorary fraternity, Garcia graduated summa cum laude with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he is pursuing a graduate degree in material mechanics.

Garcia currently ranks sixth in Division II with 2,329 passing yards, completing 204-of-331 attempts with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions for the 6-2 Orediggers. An Honorable Mention All-American and one of nine finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2010, Garcia ranked sixth nationally with 4,066 passing yards, set a school single-season record with 567 pass attempts and tied the school record with 39 touchdown passes. He was named First Team All-Region and a First Team All-Colorado performer by the NFF Colorado Chapter. He also holds a 139.1 career passer rating.

He has completed internships with Venoco, Inc., and Suncor Energy; helped design and build a fuel-cell driven car and completed an LED conversion analysis for the city of Golden, Colo. A four-year volunteer for Children's Hospital Toy Drive, he is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Mines Graduate Student Association and American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Garcia is the lead facilities engineer at PDC Energy in Houston, Texas.