Chase Garbers: Path To The NFL Draft
By Simon Carroll
Joe Kapp. Craig Morton. Steve Bartkowski. Vince Ferragamo. Kyle Boller. Davis Webb. Jared Goff. Aaron Rodgers.
There have been some famous quarterbacks to have adorned the iconic blue and gold of the University of California, Berkeley. All the names above graced the NFL – five of them appearing in Super Bowls – and each one created a legacy for themselves at one of the most prestigious institutions in American academics.
Chase Garbers leaves the Golden Bears held in similar esteem, with more than 6,500 yards and 50 touchdowns in his four year collegiate career. As he looks to follow those legends before him into professional football, he sits down with Simon Carroll to discuss his path to the NFL Draft:
Finding Football
Chase Garbers wasn’t born into a football family. His father was probably the closest thing to a sounding board he had in terms of high school and collegiate sports, playing golf at The University of Georgia back in the early eighties. But growing up in glorious Newport Beach in California, it didn’t take long for the future star to find his way onto the football field:
“I got into it at a very young age. When you’re young you kinda play every position, having as much fun as possible, and it was probably in my seventh or eighth grade I settled in as a quarterback. It all sort of went from there. I really fell in love with the team aspect of the game; the friendly competition, the physical and mental challenges, and then to take the field with ten of your teammates and strive for one common goal – to win – was awesome.”
Heading to Corona del Mar high school turned out to be a real blessing for Garbers in terms of his football ambitions. The ‘Sea Kings’ had a successful football team, and as the backup quarterback in his freshman year, Garbers got to see first hand what the standard was at his new football home:
“Even back in middle school we were winning sectional and regional titles, and then in my freshman year at Corona del Mar went to the State Championship and became the first team in California to go 16-0. So winning was a tradition, and it was really cool to be a part of that and maintain that success. I loved the challenge of meeting those high expectations, winning all the time – I think I lost five games in my entire high school career. So winning was kind of put in my DNA from an early stage, and I was very thankful for the time I spent at CDM.”
Standing Out
Chase Garbers kept up that standard and more. In his final two seasons at Corona del Mar, he threw for 6,600 yards and rushed for 1,000 more, racking up 80 touchdowns through the air and 18 on the ground. He led the Sea Kings to two PCL titles, and took home a host of personal accolades, including Dream Team Player of the Year and All-Pacific League Coast honours both as a junior and a senior. All of this in a highly competitive environment in a hotbed of high school football:
“Where I’m from, Orange County, it’s probably one of the top five counties in the country for high school football. Loads of guys in the NFL right now come from the county from every high school, so the talent level there was way above average. And to be successful against that level of competition was special. Everyone says you’ll remember your high school football for the rest of your life and I do – each and every game even now. To play with friends and win, I had a fun time there.”
Being labelled a four star quarterback from California, you would imagine that Garbers’ recruiting experience would have been hectic – after all, every collegiate football program is looking for an elite talent at the most important position on the field. Yet amazingly, Garbers tells me that it wasn’t until the end of his junior year that he began attracting attention:
“I was recruited pretty late for a high school quarterback. A lot of guys were getting offers in their freshman and sophomore seasons, whereas I ended up waiting a lot longer. But heading into my senior year, I knew I wanted to commit to a team and play collegiate football, and I narrowed it down to a handful of schools.”
Staying Home
Very excited to say that I'm COMMITTED to the University of California-Berkeley! 🐻 #Cal #CalGang17 pic.twitter.com/SmFzI41G4D
— Chase Garbers (@ChaseGarbers) June 22, 2016
They may have arrived late to the party, but once Chase Garbers’ performances got the attention they deserved, the offers soon started rolling in. Big football programs from across the country offered, from teams in the ACC such as Boston College & Wake Forest, to SEC powerhouse Ole Miss, as well as the expected interest from schools up and down the West Coast. But for Garbers, the decision involved more than just football. As a standout student, the education institutes provided was just as important as their athletic facilities or on-field success:
“I wanted to surround myself with an even balance of academics and athletics – my education was very important to me and my family. Football doesn’t last forever, so in the end I was going to make my decision between Washington, Vanderbilt and Cal – three revered schools academically that also had big football programs in Power Five conferences.”
In the end, the perfect balance of education, football and location led to Garbers staying close to home, and following in the annals of some of the greatest quarterbacks in college football and NFL history:
“I chose Cal, because obviously I got to stay in California and play in the PAC-12. And then there was the quarterback history there; they just had Jared Goff go number one overall to the NFL, Aaron Rodgers of course who has just won back to back MVP’s in the league, and all the other guys before them that have played numerous years between them at the highest level. And lastly there was the academics; Cal is one of the top institutions in the country. At the end of the day, not many people get to say that they graduated from the number one public university in the world at California Berkeley. So I was very happy with my decision.”
"It Was Most Definitely Breathtaking"
Big. Game. Hero. #calbears #theaxeisoursonceagain https://t.co/xB10nqWkRc
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) November 24, 2019
Pride or pressure? Looking at the litany of star names that preceded Chase Garbers at Cal, it would have been a daunting task for most people to follow in their footsteps. But whilst Garbers acknowledged that he had big shoes to fill, it’s almost fitting he ended up somewhere where there were standards that were expected to be maintained. Much like his introduction to high school football, the pressure was on early – and just like back then, Garbers took it in his stride.
“It was most definitely breathtaking. Playing at Cal, knowing the quarterback history there, and having the privilege to put that jersey and helmet on and walk out into Memorial Stadium and play that position, it was truly an honour. But I like to think I carried on that quarterback tradition, and did what I came there to do – help the team, lead the team, and make a name for myself.”
The Golden Bears might not have enjoyed as much team success as they would have liked during Garbers’ stay at Berkeley, but it wasn’t beacuse of a lack of effort, leadership or performance from their quarterback. He cultivated a reputation for putting the team on his back in big spots, and it was something that didn’t go unnoticed by the heralded Cal QB alumni, with Aaron Rodgers declaring him a BIG GAME HERO. Garbers appreciates the support his predecessors have given him:
“I just met Aaron Rodgers for the first time in person this past weekend, but we’ve facetimed each other a bunch of times throughout my career and he’s been really supportive and had my back. Davis Webb, the QB before me, he actually helped recruit me to Cal and acted as a kind of counsellor to me – him sharing his wisdom and experiences with me was a great resource to have. And I was also able to work out with Jared Goff a couple of times and he reached out on occasion across my time here. They appreciate my effort and I appreciate the relationship I have with them.”
Leaving A Legacy
In three years as a starter, Garbers went 19-15, throwing for more than 6,500 yards and 50 TD’s. Redshirting in 2017, he makes his debut as a freshman the following year, leading the Golden Bears to a victory over North Carolina. Much like the rest of his time at Cal, 2018 was a season of highs and lows, but in 2019 Garbers really becomes a leader of this team. Frustratingly, injuries disrupt the season and they finish 8-5 – winning all seven games that Garbers was able to finish. Despite winning a bowl game, Chase does wonder what could have been:
“Yeah we started out hot, went 4-0, was a top-25 team in the nation. But I missed some time and it was frustrating, the first time I had ever missed games due to injury. During that time we went on kind of a losing streak, winning one game, and it was tough. But ultimately we came back, and won out to end the year. I do look back and think how different it would have been if I hadn’t got hurt, but I really made the most of it. I took a coaches perspective of the game, that ‘backseat’ view to get a bigger picture. And that definitely helped me the rest of the year and the rest of my career. Everything happens for a reason, and I tried to take some positivity away from it.”
With COVID effectively wiping out the 2020 season for the PAC-12, all the chips were in for Garbers heading into 2021. Statistically, Garbers had another strong season as Cal finish middle of the pack in the conference once again. But it’s the development as a leader that people begin to notice; of the seven losses that year, five of them were by one score or less. Their veteran quarterback was keeping the team in games, showing the competitiveness required to compete at the highest level of college football.
“The game of football doesn’t always go the way it should, and 2021 was another season that, as a team, we didn’t achieve what we wanted to. But for me, what I wanted in that final year is to be the best teammate and leader that I could be. The cool thing about the 2021 season was that each week I was progressing. That’s not what you typically see from a senior quarterback, they usually plateau. But I was still improving, and our head coach Justin Wilcox will vouch for that. Ultimately, I wanted to elevate the team each and every game. And the better I played, the better the team would be. And we did that; the second half of the year we were on a roll. The season as a whole could have gone differently, but that’s why we play the game of football.”
Sibling Rivalries
Something Chase Garbers mentions a lot when we discuss his best moments at Cal were the rivalry games that he was a part of. The Golden Bears have a staunch dislike for their near neighbours Stanford, born out of competition not just on the football field but academically, with both institutions considered elite seats of learning. ‘The Big Game’ as it is known has been played 124 times since 1892, with Stanford currently leading the series with a 65-48-11 record. Garbers went 2-2 against The Cardinal, and he describes his winning run at the end of the 2019 meeting as his favourite touchdown of his college career.
Garbers comes across as highly competitive, and undoubtedly bleeds Berkeley blue. You feel the passion as he talks about big moments in his career, particularly against rival teams, and knows the win against Stanford in his final year there means he leaves Cal with the Stanford Axe returned to Memorial Stadium.
Another big rival of The Golden Bears are UCLA. This competitiveness has now become a family affair, with Chase’s brother Ethan a quarterback for The Bruins after transferring from Washington ahead of the 2021 season. The younger Garber followed his brother to Corona del Mar and had similar success at high school before embarking on his own collegiate career, and even saw the field as a placeholder as UCLA beat Cal in Chase’s final season. Despite the pain of losing to their rivals, Chase is happy for his baby bro to be forging his own football path:
“Even when he went to Washington he was on a team that we considered a rival, but when he decided to make the switch to UCLA we knew the rivalry would continue; we play them every year in the PAC-12 so I would definitely see him on the opposite sideline. But it was really cool to see him on the field, even if it was for the other team which was a little surreal. We had never played against each other before; we’d played together a little at high school in my senior year. But it was awesome to see him achieve his own dreams. It would have been even crazier if he was starting at quarterback over there, but it was a great moment to be an older brother, even if it was a tough moment to be a Cal Golden Bear.”
Star Of The Show
.@ChaseGarbers finds @JequezE for the American Team TD!@CalFootball @BearkatsFB
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 29, 2022
📺: @NFLPABowl on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/pnGio3cbBy
Everywhere Chase Garbers has been on his football journey, the pressure has been on. And in cool California fashion the ‘Blonde Bomber’ has embraced the challenge and met the standards required. As he turns his focus to the NFL then, it was no surprise to see him seize the moment in the very first opportunity the NFL Draft process had to offer. Garbers was invited to the NFLPA Bowl in Pasadena, a showcase game that allows some of the best draft prospects the opportunity to meet NFL teams and impress scouts with a week of practices and meetings. The event concludes with the All-Star game itself, where Garbers stole the show with a clinical performance, going 10-13 for 119 yards and a touchdown:
“Playing in the NFLPA Bowl was a great opportunity. We had three days to learn an offense and demonstrate our football IQ; I really pride myself on being a cerebral quarterback so I thought I handled that aspect really well. Playing with new players offered another cool challenge too, showing how you can adjust to different guys’ speed, timing and stride length, particularly for me targeting new skill position players. I was honoured to be picked as a captain and I was proud to demonstrate my leadership skills too, and then the access to meet with a handful of NFL teams was amazing. It was the classic interview process, and then they got me up on the whiteboard drawing up plays and in front of the film which is something I love – the x’s and o’s come easy to me so I enjoyed that aspect. But just being able to play football again, one last time, go out there and compete; it felt good to be chased again! But I had a great time, performed well, and hopefully improved my draft stock.”
Competing = Improving
Improving that draft stock is the name of the game for Garbers now as he works towards his pro day. You’ll be shocked to find out that he pits himself daily against some of the other quarterbacks in this draft class, working out with the likes of Desmond Ridder, Carson Strong and Jarrett Guaranatano. They’re all being put through their paces by renowned QB coach Jordan Palmer, another example of how Garbers seeks out the hardest environments to get the best out of himself. Competing is all he knows, and it’s served him well so far. He talks about how he enjoys hanging out with his fellow draft prospects and getting to know them, but if you don’t think Garbers is using every single opportunity to better himself, then you haven’t been keeping up.
We discuss his NFL Combine snub, which he brushes off, preferring to focus on the things that he can control. It’s just more fuel for him to prove people wrong. People who saw him take apart Ole Miss in 2019, or shock Oregon in the final game of 2020, will know what Garbers is capable of when the pressure is on. Now it’s just a case of letting the NFL know that too. When talking about things he wants to showcase at his pro day, he mentions the arm strength, throwing from any platform, and how he’s excited for the 40 yard dash. His underrated athleticism will be valued at the next level, but all scouts need to do is turn on the aforementioned tape and they’ll see all of that in abundance.
Garbers intends to head home to Newport Beach for draft weekend, a fitting pitcturesque setting for that polaroid moment that signifies the end of his college career and the beginning of his professional one. Asked how he’ll feel when he finds his NFL home, he’s humble and hungry enough to keep things in perspective.
“I think it would be a tremendous honour to hear your name called. I’d obviously be excited, but eager to go to work wherever wants me. And I’m ready for that next challenge; to learn, to get better, and to succeed.”
Forget the plateau. Chase Garbers isn’t done improving yet.
A huge thank you to Chase for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchown wishes him well in his future career.