Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is currently battling for his life after being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.

The diagnosis came after noticing certain abnormalities, but the hard-nosed former athlete thought he could figure out the issues on his own without a visit to the doctors. His wife wasn’t comfortable with that plan from the quarterback, who used to take snaps for a Steve Spurrier-led offense led offense in Columbia.

Reluctantly, Garcia went in for a colonoscopy where doctors discovered the cancer, and that it had been growing for a number of years.

Unfortunately, Stephen wasn’t fully grasping the news when first given, due to him still being somewhat groggy from sedation.

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But, when it was finally explained to him how serious this situation was, reality set in pretty quickly.

Obviously, there’s nothing simple about hearing the word ‘cancer,’ no matter which stage or form you are dealing with. It will humble you quickly, with the grim outlook overtaking the mind.

And while this process to fight the disease will be tough, filled with many obstacles, Garcia was most worried about his family.

While his older son understands the magnitude, he has yet to fully inform his youngest daughter, which led to the former Gamecock shedding a few tears while discussing the situation with OutKick on Friday morning.

Former Gamecock has changed his tune amid battle with cancer

In the past, Stephen Garcia was not one to jump aboard the mental health awareness train, looking at it as someone who was not strong enough to handle the circumstances surrounding whatever battle they were facing.

But, that’s the football side of Garcia, and he was the first to admit that his mindset had changed because of the stigma surrounding people, most importantly men, not feeling comfortable enough to discuss their struggles.

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This problem has led to many downfalls, or problems that arise by not talking to others about what they are going through in the moments of trials and tribulations.

For Stephen, that has all changed.

“In years past, I thought mental health was an absolute joke, just to be completely frank with you,” Garcia told OutKick. “I was like, if you gotta have some mental toughness, I played for Coach Spurrier so I had to have some mental toughness to deal with him. But, I was also extremely hard headed. It is huge. There’s gonna be days when you’re not gonna walk to talk with anybody, days you wanna give up, you gotta stay mentally tough. This whole process has opened my eyes to a whole different deal.

“People can change. I was against the whole mental health thing, I thought it was stupid. But, it’s changed my opinion, my outlook on life in general, and I encourage everyone to speak it up. I’ve had so many people reach out to say if you need to talk, reach out to me. Everyone said the same thing that you have to be mentally in it. If you are positive mentally, you’re going to get through it. If you’re feeling down in the dumps, figure out a way to get positive. It’s no joke, you are where your minds at.”

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia throws a pass against Kentucky in the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 3, 2009. South Carolina defeated Kentucky 28-26. (Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports)

Outreach has been overwhelming, with a long battle ahead

After going through his first round of chemotherapy this week, Garcia is coming to terms with the battle he faces, though he’s keeping a positive outlook for the sake of himself and his family. He will continue training athletes, when his body allows, and using his platform to encourage others to take their health seriously.

If it weren’t for his wife pushing him into getting examined, who knows how long this could’ve gone before his cancer was noticed. In the meantime, the support system has been overwhelming, as Garcia described while choking back tears.

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Stephen Garcia of the South Carolina Gamecocks drops back to pass against the East Carolina Pirates at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2011. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Whether it’s the Clemson football team, or Dabo Swinney himself, and the thousands of people who have reached out over the past few days, it’s not lost on the former quarterback how much the support has meant for his own sanity during uncertain times.

For now, Stephen Garcia is taking his battle with cancer one day at a time. But, he’s also got college football fans rooting for him to beat this terrible disease.

Kansas star Darryn Peterson is set to likely be a top-five pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, but there was a time a few months ago he did not think that day would come.

Peterson missed 11 games this season and had his time cut short in several others due to a series of cramping issues, but the worst one came before the season even started.

Peterson told ESPN recently that in September, he was taken to a hospital from a practice with severe cramping throughout his entire body.

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“I made it to the training room and just started begging them to call 911. They were trying to get a vein to get me the IV, get me back hydrated. But I was cramping so hard they couldn’t get a vein,” Peterson said.

“I thought I was going to die on the training table that day.”

After months of searching for answers, Peterson said that high doses of creatine resulted in the cramping.

Creatine, used to increase muscle size, is perhaps the most studied supplement on the market and has numerous benefits. But for Peterson, it prompted a scary situation.

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“I’d never taken it before [going to college]. But after the season I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high. So, they said when I dosed, it must’ve made the levels unsafe,” he said.

Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson drives with the ball against Iowa State Cyclones forward Dominykas Pleta during the second half of the Big 12 basketball game on Feb. 14, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. (Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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“It kind of put me in a tizzy because I didn’t know what was causing it. Nothing has ever been wrong with me before. Basketball is my life. What I love to do. But something was going on and I couldn’t figure it out.”

Peterson no longer takes creatine and has not had any issues since. He even played at least 30 minutes in eight of Kansas’ last nine games this past season.

Peterson’s lack of play, of course, drew criticism, but he did all he could to play.

“They saw I was in rehab every day before practice, after practice. Get massages. Trying all types of stuff. Carb loading because they thought I didn’t have glucose or something. Electrolytes. Liquid IV, LMNT. I changed my diet. I meal-prepped. Everything I could think of,” he said.

Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson jogs back after making a three-pointer against Houston Cougars inside Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Head coach Bill Self even decided that playing off-ball would keep him from overexerting himself, which could potentially lead to more cramping.

Peterson averaged 20.2 points per game and is widely expected to be one of the first names off the board next month.

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Shaheen Shah Afridi achieved a major World Test Championship milestone on the opening day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday.

The left-arm fast bowler etched his name into the record books by becoming the first Pakistani bowler to complete 100 wickets in ICC World Test Championship history.

Afridi reached the landmark after dismissing Bangladesh opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy during the opening day’s play.

With this achievement, the 26-year-old also became only the 19th bowler overall to claim 100 wickets in the World Test Championship (WTC), further cementing his position as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the competition.

Most wickets for Pakistan in ICC World Test Championship

Shaheen Afridi – 100*

Noman Ali – 89

Sajid Khan – 63

Naseem Shah – 60

Abrar Ahmed – 46

Yasir Shah – 41

Hasan Ali – 35

Mohammad Abbas – 34

Meanwhile, a century from skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and a half-century by Mominul Haque put Bangladesh in control on the opening day of the first Test.

After being asked to bat first, the hosts ended the day at 301-4 in 85 overs with Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 48 runs coming off 104 deliveries featuring six fours while Litton Das scored eight off 35 balls.