James Franklin shares how Penn State is handling UCLA QB prep amid Ethan Garbers injury
Penn State is set to host UCLA this weekend, though there’s some question about which quarterback the Nittany Lions will face with Bruins starter Ethan Garbers dealing with an injury.
Garbers missed the end of the team’s lopsided loss to Oregon last week.
But Penn State coach James Franklin isn’t worrying too much about which quarterback his team will face this weekend, whether it’s Garbers or sophomore Justyn Martin.
“We’re controlling the things that we can control,” Franklin said. “From what I have seen and heard they’re planning on playing [Garbers] if he’s available to play. All we can do is prepare off of what we’ve seen on tape. We haven’t seen the other kid. We went back and watched his high school tape, but there’s not a whole lot we can do but just prepare for what we’ve seen on film.”
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster said Monday that he expects Garbers to play, although he was limited in practice early this week.
“When I talked to Ethan, he told me he was playing,” Foster said. “So I would – unless we hold him out, you know, he’s going to try to get out there and play.”
In four games for UCLA, Garbers is 67-of-117 passing (57.3%) for 808 yards, with three touchdowns and six interceptions. In the 34-13 loss to Oregon this past weekend, he was 12-of-20 passing for 118 yards while throwing two of those picks and being sacked four times before leaving.
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Still, he’s the veteran presence who has manned the offense this season.
UCLA might see a change of pace in the event that Martin takes some snaps. At least, that’s the anticipation.
“Then obviously this guy supposedly is more of an athlete, so we get that,” Franklin said. “But we can’t chase ghosts. We’ve got to prepare for what we have seen.”
In two years in college, Martin is just 2-of-5 passing for 12 yards. He has taken one sack. He’s also run four times for 19 yards.
Penn State and UCLA are set to meet on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, with a national broadcast slated for FOX.