Ethan Garbers confirms he will return to UCLA for 2024 season
Ethan Garbers isn’t going anywhere. After UCLA’s 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl, the redshirt junior quarterback confirmed he will return next season.
“I will be coming back next year for one more year,” Garbers said. “I’m excited to see where we can take this thing.”
UCLA fans have a lot to be excited about after Garbers’ performance in the LA Bowl. Garbers did not start the game due to illness. However, after Collin Schlee suffered an injury in the third quarter, Garbers was left with no choice but to play.
He answered the call, and then some. In the victory, Garbers completed 9-of-his-12 pass attempts for 152 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Garbers’ arm wasn’t his only threat. The California native tallied 38 yards on a mere three carries, as well.
Under Garbers’ leadership, the Bruins outscored Boise State 28-6 in the second half. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly couldn’t be proud of Garbers’ resilience.
“I asked him; he didn’t feel great in warm-ups. He said he felt good to be a backup,” Kelly said. “Then, when Schlee went down on that long run, I asked him are you good to go? And he said, ‘I’m good to go, Coach.’ He was a tremendous jump start for us. He’s a special kid, and I’m really proud of him.”
Ethan Garbers ready to be QB1
Garbers appeared in 10 games with six starts this season, tallying 1,136 passing yards and 11 touchdowns while tossing a mere three interceptions. Nonetheless, Garbers wasn’t UCLA’s QB1.
Dante Moore was the Bruins’ starter behind center. Yet, his statistics don’t outshine Garbers. Moore recorded 1,610 passing yards this year and 11 touchdowns, but he also threw nine interceptions. Further, he absorbed 25 sacks compared to Garbers’ 12.
Moore entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 5, 11 days after UCLA’s loss to California. Now, Garbers appears to be UCLA’s QB1 next season. Kelly claimed Garbers has been at the top of the quarterback room for a while now.
“Ethan won the team over a long time ago. He’s been our starting quarterback; the only issue we’ve had is he has gotten banged up. He knows that he’s the starting quarterback here. I’ve got great faith in him. What we saw today is what we saw against Stanford and what we saw against USC.
“We’ve had challenges. We’ve had challenges with adversity. We’ve had challenges with injuries. We don’t make excuses, nor do we let other people make excuses for us. This is life. I’m really proud of them. I’m really proud of how they responded. That’s what a competitor does.”