Craig Garrick
 Garrick in the 1990s | |
| Position: | Offensive guard |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 4, 1959 Provo, Utah |
| Died: | September 3, 2001 (aged 41) Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Provo (UT) |
| College: | BYU |
| Undrafted: | 1985 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
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Craig Kenner Garrick was born October 4, 1959, in Provo, Utah, and became one of the captains of BYU's 1984 national championship football team.[1] He played offensive guard, wore number 59, and was about 6-foot-4.[2][3] LaVell Edwards, BYU's head coach, called him "the heart and soul of the team."[1]
Early life
Craig grew up in Provo, in the Oak Hills neighborhood. His parents were Ilyn and Janet Garrick.[1][4] His best friend growing up was Kyle Whittingham, who eventually became the head football coach at the University of Utah.[4] They were childhood best friends, played football together, and eventually ended up as teammates at BYU.[4]
Craig went to Provo High School. He was an all-state defensive end, but he also played linebacker and tight end.[5][3][6] He was being recruited by major football programs and had committed to Nebraska.[6]
He then suffered a knee injury.[6] He got hit on a crackback block, and the damage was so bad that one doctor described it as being like somebody had taken an ax and chopped through his knee joint.[6] All the schools that had been recruiting him backed off, including Nebraska. The only two schools still willing to take him were San Diego State and BYU.[6] LaVell Edwards had known Craig his entire life. Edwards told him that BYU would honor his scholarship, even if he never played another down of football.[6]
College career
He ended up at BYU and played a little as a freshman in 1979.[3][6] He left for two years to serve an LDS mission. He served in Tallahassee, Florida.[1]
When he came back in 1982, he switched positions.[3] He had originally been a linebacker, but because his knees were in such bad shape, they moved him to offensive guard. The idea was that he would not have to deal with as many cut blocks and some of the other things that made playing defense particularly hard on his knees.[6] He ended up starting at guard for about two and a half seasons.[6] He was named second-team All-WAC in 1983.[7]
Before the 1983 Holiday Bowl, BYU was getting ready to play Missouri.[8] He told reporters, "Missouri's license plates have 'The Show Me State' on them. That's what we want to do - show them."[8]
1984 national championship season
In 1984, Craig was a senior, and he was named one of the five captains of BYU's football team.[5] At the beginning of that season, BYU was not considered a national championship contender.[9] Their first game was against Pittsburgh, which was ranked number three in the country at the time.[9]
Before that game, there was a players-only meeting.[9] He told everybody that if they could beat Pittsburgh, there was no reason they could not win every game on their schedule. If they went undefeated, people would have to consider BYU for the national championship.[9]
Vai Sikahema, one of his teammates, kept a journal that season.[9] After that meeting, he wrote:[9] "Craig Garrick uttered two words tonight that have never been mentioned at BYU: national champions."[9]
According to Sikahema, Craig was the guy who first put that idea into the team's head.[9] They beat Pittsburgh.[9]
The following week, before they played Baylor, there was another players-only meeting.[10] At this one, he read a poem to the team.[10] Afterward, the players locked arms and prayed together, which was the first time they had done that as a team.[10]
He had to get treatment on it every single day.[6] During a game against Hawaii, he hurt his right knee badly enough that they had to carry him off the field. That particular injury was not as serious as it initially looked.[11] He continued playing through the pain, and he did not miss a game that season.[6]
Later in the year, after BYU beat Utah, Craig said:[12] "I've never lost to them - I never will now."[12] When BYU received its invitation to the Holiday Bowl, the invitation was formally extended to LaVell Edwards and Craig Garrick, as one of the team captains.[13]
Holiday Bowl
The 1984 Holiday Bowl was against Michigan.[10] This is the game that ultimately secured BYU's national championship.[10] It was a close game, and BYU's quarterback, Robbie Bosco, was playing hurt.[10]
Late in the fourth quarter, the game was tied 17–17, and BYU had the ball with about a minute and a half left.[10] He was blocking on the offensive line, and instead of trying to stop the pass rusher right at the line of scrimmage, he deliberately allowed the defender to get upfield.[10] Then he pushed him farther outside, which created a throwing lane for Bosco.[10] Bosco was able to get the ball away and throw the game-winning touchdown to Kelly Smith.[10]
BYU won 24–17.[10] With that win, they finished the entire season undefeated and were named national champions.[10] That year, he was named first-team All-WAC and received honorable mention All-American recognition from the Associated Press.[3][7] Over the course of his college career he had gone through seven knee operations, a shoulder operation, a broken wrist, and a broken toe.[3]
Professional career
When he was working out for NFL scouts, he weighed around 300 pounds and ran a 4.8-second 40-yard dash.[6] He signed with the New York Jets as a free agent in June of 1985.[14] During rookie camp, he was the fastest offensive lineman there.[6]
He failed his physical, and the Jets waived him on July 25, 1985, about a month after he had signed.[14] Craig later said that he had told the team he could not keep going because of how bad his knee had gotten.[6] His obituary also mentions that he'd pursued an opportunity with the Dallas Cowboys.[1]
Later life
After football, Craig earned two degrees from BYU.[1] He got a bachelor's degree in commercial and corporate wellness, and then a master's degree in professional leadership.[6]
He taught health classes part-time at Utah Valley State College.[6] While he was there, he started a substance-abuse support group for students and served as the assistant director of alcohol and drug prevention.[6] He also worked as a program director at a private school for troubled youth.[6] He was a motivational speaker, an LDS seminary teacher, and a counselor for teenagers who were struggling.[1]
The injuries he had pushed through during his football career had left him in constant pain.[6] While he was playing, he had been taking a prescription painkiller called Percodan to manage that pain.[6] Over time, he had become addicted to it.[6]
In 1986, not long after his football career ended, he went into drug treatment.[6] BYU paid for his treatment.[6] He continued going to recovery meetings afterward.[6]
In a 1994 article in the Deseret News, he talked openly about the injuries, the pain, the addiction, and what his life had become after football.[6] The title was "Garrick Has Exchanged Glory for Pain as He Rebuilds His Life."[6]
He married Carol Rosenvall in 1994.[1] He had four children: Jordan, Jerica, Jaxon, and Jayden.[1]
Death and legacy
He died on September 3, 2001, at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.[1] He was 41 years old.[1] His death was caused by complications following abdominal surgery.[1]
The Deseret News published a retrospective about his life.[15] The article was called "Craig Garrick: Ex-BYU Star Free of Pain - at Last."[15] It included interviews with his family and former teammates, looking back at what he had accomplished, what he had struggled with, and the kind of person he had been.[15]
In 2004, BYU brought back members of that national championship team and honored them at halftime of a game against Notre Dame.[16] That was almost exactly 20 years after the championship season.[16]
In 2020, the Deseret News put together a series ranking the greatest BYU football players to wear each jersey number.[7] For number 59, they chose Craig.[7] They picked him over Kyle Whittingham, his childhood best friend.[7] That same year, Jeff Call, who covered BYU football for the Deseret News, put together his ultimate all-time BYU team, and Craig was one of the players he selected.[17]
In 2024, for the 40th anniversary of BYU's national championship, there were articles and interviews with former players looking back on that season.[5][18] Lee Johnson, the kicker on that team, talked about Craig's leadership and said it was "off the charts."[5] He said Craig led people through "his strength, his intensity and his smile."[5] ESPN also published a retrospective on the 1984 team during the anniversary, and they brought up that same story from Vai Sikahema.[18] The one about Craig predicting that BYU could become national champions before the season had even started.[18]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Obituary: Craig Kenner Garrick". Deseret News. 2001-09-05. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ "Craig Garrick". Cougar Archive. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Craig Garrick Season 1984". BYU Athletics. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Whittinghams: Like Father Like Son". Deseret News. 2009-02-16. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Dick Harmon (2024-10-11). "Lee Johnson remembers warrior teammates on 1984 national championship team". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 Doug Robinson (1994-09-01). "Garrick Has Exchanged Glory for Pain as He Rebuilds His Life". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Jay Drew (2020-08-17). "BYU football: Best to wear it". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "1983 Holiday Bowl: BYU 21, Missouri 17". Deseret News. 2000-12-04. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Lee Benson (2024-10-04). "The unlikeliest of champions". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 Doug Robinson (1996-01-14). "Cougars' Title Trek Still Stirs Wonder". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ "Several Cougars Nursing Injuries". The Daily Universe. 1984-10-02. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Cougars Win 60th Battle in Runnin' Ute Rivalry". The Daily Universe. 1984-11-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ Tom Walton (1984-11-05). "Y Wins Another WAC Title, Rolls Over UTEP Miners". The Daily Universe. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The New York Jets waived running back Mike Augustyniak". United Press International. 1985-07-25. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Doug Robinson (2002-10-28). "Craig Garrick: Ex-BYU star free of pain - at last". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Sports Shorts". BYU Magazine. 2004. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ Brandon Gurney (2020-04-23). "BYU football beat writers select ultimate Cougar teams". Deseret News. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Bill Connelly (2024-10-18). "Why BYU's 1984 national title still matters in college football". ESPN. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Category:1959 births Category:2001 deaths Category:American football offensive guards Category:BYU Cougars football players Category:New York Jets players Category:Players of American football from Provo, Utah
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