Florida Gators junior linebacker Cristian Garcia has a good excuse for missing practice on Tuesday. He was scheduled to tour the White House and then have dinner with Vice President Joe Biden, according to a FloridaGators.com story.

Garcia, a walk-on who played in just one game last season, helped stop a rape from happening behind a Gainesville, Florida, restaurant in July.

As a result of his bravery, Garcia is one of three recipients of the inaugural "It's On Us" Courage Awards. It's On Us is an initiative to stop sexual assaults on college campuses that was introduced by President Barack Obama in September 2014. Garcia will be honored at a reception at Vice President Biden's house on Tuesday evening.

"This is a great honor and it's pretty cool to be recognized for a good cause,'' Garcia told FloridaGators.com.

This season, Garcia has been a regular contributor on special teams, starting on the punt-return and kickoff-return teams. Garcia was granted permission to miss Tuesday's practice by coach Jim McElwain, but he'll return from Washington later this week as Florida prepares to host LSU on Saturday.

- John Wilmhoff