That'll learn him.

Stephen Garcia, a highly-touted freshman QB at South Carolina, was reinstated two weeks early, just in time for the start of practice:

South Carolina’s suspended quarterback will be on the field Friday for the Gamecocks’ first preseason practice after university officials on Wednesday approved Garcia’s request for early reinstatement, according to sources close to the situation.

Garcia was suspended in March following his third arrest or citation in a 15-month span. The suspension was to have lasted until Aug. 15 — the day students return to campus — and include a number of requirements ranging from drug and alcohol tests to personal counseling.

Those citations include: drunkenness and failure to stop for a police officer (his attempts to hide in an alley were surprisingly unsuccessful); keying a professor's car; more underage drinking, as well as the admission that he discharged a fire extinguisher in a dormitory. (Which, I mean, who hasn't done that? "Will that fire extinguisher propel my office chair down the hall?" is the sort of question you ask yourself after 12 Bud Ice Lights. Also: "Would using the sink as a urinal provide me with the additional testicular support I've longed for all these years?")

[You can't make this stuff up: according to the USC media guide (pdf), Garcia's hobbies include "watching ancient war movies and collecting swords."]

The inevitable finger wagging came from State columnist Ron Morris. And Steve Spurrier didn't much appreciate it:



(Thanks to Barnyardian for the video.)