Wake Forest Athletics
After Year Away, Sascha Garcia Ready to Make Impact
6/16/2026 10:53:00 AM | Football
Sascha Garcia arrived at Wake Forest in January 2025 with a plan. He had put together a solid career at William & Mary — 19 tackles, 11 pass breakups and a blocked kick in 12 games as a redshirt freshman for the Tribe — and he came to Winston-Salem projected to start in the secondary for a program in its first year under head coach Jake Dickert. Then, within the first five periods of his first spring camp practice, his ankle gave way.
"My ankle was literally off the skin, out the bone," Garcia said. "I remember them clicking it, putting it back in as we were on the ground. I'm just like, there's no way.
"Especially me coming from FCS — I get the opportunity to go Power Four, I'm here, I'm ready to show why I belong to be here. And then the first day, that happened."
Garcia, a 6-foot-2 defensive back from Clinton, Md., missed the entire 2025 season as a result. He watched from the sideline as the Deacs put together a successful 9-4 campaign that ended with a 43-29 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over Mississippi State. He dealt with complications along the way — an infection pushed back his recovery timeline further than anticipated. Through it all, he said, the only thing that kept him grounded was his faith.
"I always had a great relationship with Christ, but I'm learning to depend on him even more," Garcia said. "Even when I couldn't walk, not to take the little things for granted. I remember I couldn't even walk.
"I had questions. Would I even be able to play? Will I be the same player? All that is the devil, honestly. I just ignore that stuff."
Now Garcia is back on the field. His confidence, he said, never wavered — and the chip on his shoulder heading into this camp is substantial.
"The confidence is there. I never actually lost my confidence," he said. "I still believe I'm that guy. Honestly, I really feel like that regardless. My 85 percent is better than your 100. My 90 percent is better than your 100. That's really the mentality."
The patience he developed during a year on the shelf has become something Garcia talks about almost reverently. It was the first serious injury of his football life, and learning to surrender control — to sit still when everything in him wanted to compete — was an education he didn't expect.
"Patience," he said, when asked what the year taught him. "But on a deeper level, my relationship with Christ has gotten stronger."
Back on the field, Garcia is relishing the details that most players take for granted — the communication in the secondary, the back-and-forth with teammates between reps, the simple act of being a factor.
One of those little things is sharing the secondary with fellow defensive back Rushaun Tongue, who Garcia credits as a steadying presence in the back end.
"Ru is my dog," Garcia said. "He's out there communicating. I like being on the field with Ru just communicating."
Garcia also embraces the coaching he's receiving now that he's healthy enough to receive it. After a year of watching from the outside, getting corrected is something he's come to see as a privilege rather than a burden.
"I want to be coached hard," he said. "I missed the whole year. I want to be coached. You're going to have to get on me sometimes. We just correct the mistakes."
The 2025 season that Garcia missed was, by any measure, a watershed year for the Dickert era at Wake Forest. Being present for it — and yet not — gave him a perspective on what's at stake as the program builds forward.
He's entering the 2026 season healthy, hungry and, by his own account, running on borrowed time he has no intention of wasting.
"I'm here by the grace of God, honestly," he said. "So that's all I have."
"My ankle was literally off the skin, out the bone," Garcia said. "I remember them clicking it, putting it back in as we were on the ground. I'm just like, there's no way.
"Especially me coming from FCS — I get the opportunity to go Power Four, I'm here, I'm ready to show why I belong to be here. And then the first day, that happened."
Garcia, a 6-foot-2 defensive back from Clinton, Md., missed the entire 2025 season as a result. He watched from the sideline as the Deacs put together a successful 9-4 campaign that ended with a 43-29 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over Mississippi State. He dealt with complications along the way — an infection pushed back his recovery timeline further than anticipated. Through it all, he said, the only thing that kept him grounded was his faith.
"I always had a great relationship with Christ, but I'm learning to depend on him even more," Garcia said. "Even when I couldn't walk, not to take the little things for granted. I remember I couldn't even walk.
"I had questions. Would I even be able to play? Will I be the same player? All that is the devil, honestly. I just ignore that stuff."
Now Garcia is back on the field. His confidence, he said, never wavered — and the chip on his shoulder heading into this camp is substantial.
"The confidence is there. I never actually lost my confidence," he said. "I still believe I'm that guy. Honestly, I really feel like that regardless. My 85 percent is better than your 100. My 90 percent is better than your 100. That's really the mentality."
The patience he developed during a year on the shelf has become something Garcia talks about almost reverently. It was the first serious injury of his football life, and learning to surrender control — to sit still when everything in him wanted to compete — was an education he didn't expect.
"Patience," he said, when asked what the year taught him. "But on a deeper level, my relationship with Christ has gotten stronger."
Back on the field, Garcia is relishing the details that most players take for granted — the communication in the secondary, the back-and-forth with teammates between reps, the simple act of being a factor.
One of those little things is sharing the secondary with fellow defensive back Rushaun Tongue, who Garcia credits as a steadying presence in the back end.
"Ru is my dog," Garcia said. "He's out there communicating. I like being on the field with Ru just communicating."
Garcia also embraces the coaching he's receiving now that he's healthy enough to receive it. After a year of watching from the outside, getting corrected is something he's come to see as a privilege rather than a burden.
"I want to be coached hard," he said. "I missed the whole year. I want to be coached. You're going to have to get on me sometimes. We just correct the mistakes."
The 2025 season that Garcia missed was, by any measure, a watershed year for the Dickert era at Wake Forest. Being present for it — and yet not — gave him a perspective on what's at stake as the program builds forward.
He's entering the 2026 season healthy, hungry and, by his own account, running on borrowed time he has no intention of wasting.
"I'm here by the grace of God, honestly," he said. "So that's all I have."
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