ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --Max Garcia knows that passive play doesn't have a place between the lines.

"When you're playing in the trenches, there's no room for a nice guy on the field," the Broncos' fourth-round pick said Saturday on a conference call with Denver media. "You've got to be mean, you've got to be aggressive.

"...But you don't have to take that with you off the field."

The DT-mauling interior lineman is just the opposite outside of football, offering his time and giving back to the community. As a senior at Florida, he was given the Gene Elleson Community Service Award for his off-the-field work.

"I'm just extremely blessed and extremely just like, proud to be in this position," Garcia said, "...so I wanted to give back.

"I like to make people smile and make somebody's day better, and that's kind of like the person that I am."

The sort of character Garcia displays as a person is consistent with what he shows as a player, whether studying his playbook or grinding through another practice. The rookie, who says much of his game "has to do with mental preparation," already has high expectations for when he arrives at Dove Valley.

"I just really want to go in and get the playbook and learn that as quickly as possible, as thoroughly as possible, and just be able to be kind of like a coach to the other young guys out there who are learning the playbook as well," Garcia said. "I want to be able to make calls...Peyton [Manning]'s going to be out there and he's not one for errors when he's out there."

The young lineman plans to earn his way the same way he did when joining the Gators as a tranfer in 2012: Keeping his head down and working hard.

"That's kind of just who I am," Garcia said. "I just like to get work done and not really talk about it. I just let my actions speak for themselves."