Ethan Garbers reveals how he reacted to Collin Schlee injury in LA Bowl

Ethan Garbers’ rollercoaster season continued in UCLA’s LA Bowl victory once fellow quarterback Collin Schlee went down with an injury.

Garbers filled in and tossed two touchdowns in the 35-22 win over Boise State to end the Bruins’ season with a win. Chip Kelly had a true quarterback carousel all season long, including Garbers getting opportunities to start.

Well, Garbers certainly finished the job Saturday.

“When I saw Collin kind of laying there and he didn’t seem like he was ready to go, you know, just kind of flip that switch in my head,” Garbers said. “You know, it’s time to go to work. And I think that’s what we did.”

Garbers finished the game nine-of-12 passing for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He added 38 yards on the ground as well.

Receiving wise, J. Michael Sturdivant was a star, reeling in four passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. The connection worked out in big moments.

“You know, just all the work we’ve put in since he got here last January,” Garbers said. “That whole year of just in the summer, in the winter, in the spring, working on that, working on those throws, you know, at that point when we were out there, it’s just muscle memory and we’ve done it so many times. We called it and we got the right look and we executed.”

In 11 games this year, Garbers had 1,136 yards, 11 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 67.1% completion percentage. Safe to say, he made his reps count.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Garbers was a four-star recruit out of Newport Beach (Calif.) Corona Del Mar, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 11 overall prospect in the state, the No. 8 quarterback in the class and the No. 112 overall prospect in the class. 

“I would just say my entire football career has been resilient,” Garbers said. “And you know, that’s life. Coach Kelly says it all the time. Life is hard and if you can find a way to get through these battles and win those battles, it’s going to help you out in the long run. So I mean, that was pretty much it.”

Next year will be pretty interesting, considering former five-star Dante Moore elected to enter the transfer portal. Garbers already confirmed he’d be back at UCLA in 2024.