UCLA names Ethan Garbers starting QB; Schlee, Moore to play - ESPN

After a quarterback battle that spanned all spring and fall camps, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly named Ethan Garbers the starting quarterback on Monday for the Bruins' season opener against Coastal Carolina.

Kelly said that while Garbers will start on Saturday, Kent State transfer Collin Schlee and five-star freshman Dante Moore will also play. The exact plan on rotating them, according to Kelly, is to be determined.

«All three deserve to play,» Kelly said at practice Monday morning. «It's been a really good battle with those guys.»

Garbers, who competed with Schlee, redshirt freshman Justyn Martin and Moore for the job, threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns last season and was arguably the safest choice for Kelly given his experience as the Bruins' backup last season.

The junior will try to fill the void left behind by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who departed to the NFL after five years at UCLA. Thompson-Robinson started seven games as a freshman in 2018 and was the Bruins' starter through last season. He took over the starting job during Kelly's first season as UCLA head coach and went on to become the Bruins' all-time leader in passing touchdowns last season.

While Kelly never hinted at who the starting quarterback would be and split reps evenly throughout camp, according to the quarterbacks, he did emphasize how important decision-making was in selecting a quarterback and praised Thompson-Robinson for his evolution in that category throughout his time in Westwood.

In some ways, such a factor correlates with Kelly's decision to go with Garbers, who acknowledged that he had an advantage during the competition given his familiarity with Kelly's system.

«He's the most experienced in our offense,» Kelly said. «He's been the