Chase

Garbers

Garbers (6'2/225) has been a consistent presence under center at Cal for the past four seasons, leading the Golden Bears through thick-and-thin. Over his career, he has connected on 598-of-965 passes for a 62 percent completion rate, 6,578 yards and a 50-to-24 TD/INT ratio. He set career highs in passing yardage with 2,531 and touchdown passes with 16 this season while earning a very respectable 79.3 passing grade from PFF. While not an upper-level athlete, Garbers did a nice job making progressions and staying away from making mistakes as his 1.8 percent turnover worthy play rate will attest. He was most comfortable throwing intermediate range passes in the middle of the field and averaged 9.6 air yards per throw at Cal. He is likely to be rated in the QB10-15 range of the 2022 NFL Draft class, so he will be lucky to earn a draft selection in the late rounds.

In a game that was rescheduled earlier in the season after Cal was unable to field a full team due to COVID-19 sweeping its locker room, Garbers (6'2/225) closed out 2021 for the Bears in solid fashion. He didn’t do anything overly impressive in this one, throwing for just 177 yards on the afternoon, but his 85.7% completion percentage against USC kept things moving for the Bears, and put them in position to win. Cal held a 17-7 lead at halftime, thanks in part to a touchdown drive that was led by Garbers, when he led the Bears down field on 61 yards through the air to setup a one-yard rushing touchdown by Chris Brooks. The Bears season ends with a 5-7 record, as Garbers finishes with 2,527 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Garbers (6'2"/225) hit Trevon Clark perfectly in stride for an 84-yard touchdown strike to kick off the scoring barrage from Cal, as they easily vanquished their beleaguered crosstown rival, Stanford. The Golden Bear showed no ill-effects from the week off after COVID spread through their locker room. They moved the ball at will, recording a season-high 636 total yards while Garbers averaged a strong 9.8 yards per pass attempt. He also chipped in with seven rushes and 59 yards on the ground, as Call thoroughly dominated the Cardinal. Cal travels to Pasadena to take on UCLA next Saturday.

According to Garbers’ (6'2/225) father, the school informed parents that the football program was up to 47 positive cases of COVID-19 (that number includes coaches and support staff) at one point. “The reality is a lot of guys tested positive,” Grant Garbers told Cal Sports Nation. “How severe the symptoms are, they didn’t elaborate on.” The expectation is that many of those who were impacted will have successfully completed their quarantine periods, and continued to test negative, in enough time to be able to play next weekend against Stanford. Cal’s game against USC, which was scheduled for this weekend, was postponed due to the COVID cases.

Garbers (6'2/225) is one of a number of Golden Bears who did not make the trip to Tucson, with it being reported earlier in the week that some players were dealing with COVID-19. With the redshirt senior sidelined, senior Ryan Glover will make his first start as a Golden Bear.

This situation certainly needs to be followed, as Cal announced earlier in the week that multiple players would not travel to Tucson due to COVID-19. No names were mentioned by the school, so it remains to be seen who won’t be present. Garbers (6'2/215) not being able to play would be huge, as the Golden Bears’ starting quarterback is a threat both as a runner and a passer. If he can’t play, senior Ryan Glover should be next in line. Key word: should.

Garbers found RB Christopher Brooks -- formerly Brown -- for two of his passing scores, with Trevon Clark finding the end zone as well. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound redshirt senior scooted in from two yards away for his rushing score in the first quarter. Garbers has been maddeningly inconsistent in his time with Cal, but he was solid in a (basically) must-win game in terms of keeping Cal alive for bowl contention. They get lowly Arizona next week.

Garbers (6'2"/215) did pretty much all of his damage in the first half, and he led Cal to a score on every single drive in the first two quarters. He made a number of gorgeous throws down the sidelines, and both of his touchdown passes perfectly placed rainbows right into this receivers breadbaskets. Taking a 23-3 lead into the second half, and Colorado’s offense looking unlikely to score, the offense got much more conservative, mostly runs and short passes and the Golden Bears scored just a field goal of their own. Garbers was great when he needed to be, and also broke the school’s QB rushing record today. All in all a nice day for the senior. He’ll have a much tougher test against Oregon State next week.

Garbers (6'2/215) is only three yards away from overtaking legendary QB Joe Kapp for the school quarterback rushing record. Garbers likely would have broken the record last season, but the COVID-19 shortened season only allowed Garbers to play in four games. He is also on pace to break his single-season record of rushing yards of 420. Be on the lookout early in the Golden Bears game against Colorado on Saturday afternoon since the record is likely to be broken early.

Garbers (6'2/225) found tight end Jake Tonges in the first quarter on a nine yard touchdown to give Cal and early 7-3 lead over Oregon. Garbers next score didn’t come until the second half, when early in the fourth quarter, he connected with tight end Gavin Reinwald on a four-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 17-10. Oregon would then go on to score 14 unanswered points, which put Garbers and the Bears in a position to try and force overtime late. He nearly pulled it off, thanks in part to a clutch pass that he completed on fourth down while in the arms of Oregon EDGE rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. Despite the efforts from Garbers, he and Cal were unable to complete the upset, as they now look to end their three game skid next week against Colorado.