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UCLA football continues to navigate through quarterback woes

October 15, 2023

UCLA entered the season with notable depth within the quarterback room but there’s now a level of uncertainty at the position following the 36-24 Pac-12 Conference loss to Oregon State over the weekend.

The Bruins (4-2 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) traveled with four quarterbacks to Corvallis, playing true freshman Dante Moore and redshirt junior Collin Schlee.

Moore threw three interceptions and Oregon converted the turnovers into 17 total points in the first half. One of those interceptions resulted in a pick-6, which was the third for Moore, with one happening in each of the last three games.

“He’s a resilient kid and that’s a great quality of his,” Coach Chip Kelly said. “We will sit down and watch the game with him and go over what his decisions were when he had the ball and how those things happen and we will continue to grow as a football team.”

Ryan Cooper Jr. returned the ball 67 yards for the score with 48 seconds left in the first half. The Beavers (6-1, 3-1) took a 23-10 lead into the locker room following the successful extra-point attempt.

Members of the fan base expressed their thoughts on social media, calling for a change at the position.

Schlee did participate in the game but not necessarily in relief of Moore.

“We planned on using Collin early and we did,” Kelly said. “I thought he was a spark. We had a package for him that we felt he could help us with. He did a nice job with it.”

The Kent State transfer had six carries for 80 yards on some designed quarterback runs. Schlee wouldn’t return to the game after he appeared to be in some pain following his longest run for a 28-yard gain in the third quarter,

“Collin was unavailable,” Kelly explained. “I was just told that he was unavailable for a little bit in the first half and then at halftime they said he would see if he could go.”

Schlee completed his one pass attempt for a 1-yard gain.

Kelly wouldn’t provide any other information or speculate on Schlee’s status.

Quarterbacks Chase Griffin and Ethan Garbers were also seen on the sideline and available for the Bruins but neither played. Both have starting experience for UCLA.

Garbers has appeared in four games this season, which is the maximum number of games allowed to play if the player is planning on redshirting the season. He’s currently listed as a redshirt junior after not playing for Washington in the 2020 season but is expected to have two years of eligibility after this season because of the extra year granted by the NCAA for the COVID-impacted season.

Garbers had stated that he was on track to graduate in the spring of 2024. He’ll then have the opportunity to exercise his right to transfer again as a graduate transfer.

Garbers served as the top quarterback coming out of training camp and was tabbed as the starter for the season opener against Coastal Carolina.

The Corona del Mar graduate completed 10 of 17 passes for 121 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions against the Chanticleers before handing the reigns over to Moore.

Garbers has thrown the ball just once in the last five games. He completed a pass for 13 yards to Kyle Ford in the nonconference finale against North Carolina Central. Kelly used a total of five quarterbacks in the 59-7 victory on Sept. 16.

Backup placekicker Blake Glessner took over as the holder for R.J. Lopez’s field goal attempts in place of Garbers following the Utah game.