Senior Spotlight: Eduardo Garcia-Duran, Greer

Eduardo Garcia Duran is a senior offensive lineman for the Greer Yellow Jackets. He currently holds two collegiate offers — one from Ferrum College and one from UVA-Wise. Garcia-Duran spoke to Greer Sports Star about his goals for his senior season and his post-graduation plans.

Greer Sports Star (GSS): What are your personal goals for your senior season? What sort of goals does Greer have as a team?

Eduardo Garcia-Duran (EG): My main goal is to leave a mark and a path for the upcoming offensive linemen, some of the younger guys on the team. As a team, we’re trying to play together and unified and make this season extend as long as it possibly can.

GSS: Your head coach {Will Young] was a star offensive lineman in his day. What is your relationship with him like?

EG: It’s really great. Coach Young took me in as a freshman, and I feel like he was the first person to truly see potential in me. He told me, while I was still a freshman, that I had a real chance to play college ball. I told him at the end of that year that I was making it a goal to play in college. He’s taken me under his wing ever since.

GSS: At what point in your career did you realize how much potential you had in football?

EG: When I was a sophomore, I was up there with the seniors on our team in terms of grades and stats. I knew I had the potential to be great and just kept putting the work in.

GSS: When did you first fall in love with the sport?

EG: I started playing football in seventh grade. I didn't know anything about football then. I took that summer after seventh grade to watch videos and do training alone. That way, in eighth grade, I could have a starting spot. And I earned it. I guess that's when it all sparked for me, and it just took it off from there.

GSS: Do you play any other sports?

EG: I did wrestling for a little while but not anymore. I also play goalkeeper for Greer’s soccer team. I’ve played that position ever since I was little, and since then, it’s stuck.

Aside from playing football for Greer, Garcia-Duran is also the goalkeeper for the Jackets' soccer team.

GSS: What are some other hobbies/passions you have?

EG: I’m an avid fisher. Always have been. I love going fishing at Lake Apalache.

GSS: Favorite performance of y0ur career with Greer football?

EG: Last season vs. Westside and then in the playoffs against Greenville. I went up against some really good (now Division I) defensive linemen in those games and more than held my own.

GSS: What are your plans for after graduation?

EG: I want to go to school for business management. That’s always something I’ve been interested in. I’m also very interested in studying AI somehow because I think it’s going to get way bigger in the next few years.

GSS: Favorite pre-game song?

EG: I have a playlist full of pre-game music, but I really love 41st Yavo by BIG YAVO. It’s a song I’ve known since freshman year. It takes me back to where I started and reminds me where I’m going.

GSS: Favorite NFL Player?

EG: It would definitely be [San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle] Trent Williams.

GSS: Favorite place to eat after a game or practice?

EG: It used to be Waffle House, but my girlfriend and I have started going to different taco trucks because they stay open really late. They’re delicious and there isn’t as big of a wait there.

GSS: What will you miss most about playing for Greer?

EG: Definitely the culture and tradition around Greer. For football games, it’s one night where the whole city comes together to watch you play. Playing football for Greer is a privilege. Not everyone gets the opportunity. It’s special.

Garcia-Duran will suit up Friday night at Dooley Field as Greer welcomes Byrnes for another chapter in the teams’ storied rivalry. Both the Jackets and Rebels will be seeking their first wins of the season.