Biography
Garbers' Career Game Highs
Rushes: 18 (vs. North Texas, 2019)
Rushing Yards: 96 (vs. Colorado, 2021)
Long Rush: 38 (vs. Colorado, 2021)
Rushing TDs: 1 (11 times, last at UCLA, 2021)
Pass Completions: 30 (at Washington, 2021)
Pass Attempts: 44 (at Oregon, 2021)
Passing Percentage: 85.7%, 18-21 (vs. USC, 2021)
Passing Yards: 357 (at Ole Miss, 2019)
Passing TDs: 4 (twice, last vs. Illinois, 2019)
Long Pass: 84TD (at Stanford, 2021)
Interceptions: 3 (vs. TCU, 2018)
Passer Rating: 188.1 (vs. Oregon State, 2021)
Total Offense Yards: 390 (at Washington, 2021)
All-Purpose Yards: 96 (vs. Colorado, 2021)
Points: 6 (11 times, last at UCLA, 2021)
Punts: 1 (vs. North Texas, 2019)
Punting Yards: 40 (vs. North Texas, 2019)
Punting Average: 40.0 (vs. North Texas, 2019)
Long Punt: 40 (vs. North Texas, 2019)
Forced Fumbles: 1 (at Washington State, 2018)
Tackles: 1 (at Washington State, 2018)
After Cal
• Played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 29, 2002, completing 10-of-13 passes for 119 yards and throwing one touchdown while rushing twice for 25 yards and leading the American team to touchdowns on two of the three drives he played in during a 25-24 loss to the National squad
• Announced he was foregoing his final season of collegiate eligibility to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft on Dec. 14, 2021
Cal Career (2017-21)
• Started 34 of the 36 games he played in at Cal and posted a 19-15 record as a starting quarterback while he was 19-11 in games which he started and played more than one half
• Completed 589-of-959 passes (62.4%) for 6582 yards with 50 touchdowns and 24 interceptions for a 132.2 passer rating, and finished his Cal career ranked among the school's all-time leaders in total offense (7756, 4th), touchdown passes (T6th), passer efficiency (7th), passing yards (7th), 300-plus yard passing games (4, T7th) and 250-yard passing games (9, T9th)
• Averaged 216.2 yards of total offense per game and totaled 1262 plays
• Played in and started 11 games and completed 223-of-348 passes (64.1%) for 2533 yards with 16 touchdowns while adding 104 carries for 456 yards and four touchdowns as a 2021 senior for career highs in each category, as well as yards per game totals for passing (235.6 ypg) and total offense (280.0 ypg)
• Had career-high averages of 8.2 yards per pass attempt and 13.5 yards per completion, as well as a 148.9 passer rating as a 2019 sophomore
• Played in a career-high 12 games as a 2018 redshirt freshman, while he also threw a career-high 10 interceptions
• Cal's all-time leader for both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns for a quarterback with 1174 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground on 331 carries, breaking records previously held by Joe Kapp (931), and Brian Bedford and Dave Penhall (9) in back-to-back home wins against Colorado and Oregon State as a 2021 senior
• Had 104 career explosive plays of 20+ yards with 94 passing and 10 rushing
• Had his lone career forced fumble and tackle as a 2018 redshirt freshman at Washington State when after throwing an interception he forced a fumble at Cal's three-yard line that eventually rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and returned the ball to the Golden Bears
Senior (2021)
• Named Cal’s Most Valuable Player while also earning an All-Pac-12 selection of the league’s coaches and Pro Football Focus as a 2021 senior when he played in and started 11 games and completed 223-of-348 passes (64.1%) for 2533 yards with 16 touchdowns, while adding 104 carries for 456 yards and four touchdowns for career highs in each category
• Also averaged per-game career highs in passing (235.6 ypg), rushing (41.5 ypg) and total offense (280.0 ypg)
• Ranked among Pac-12 leaders in total plays (2nd, 452), as well as per-game total offense (2nd, 271.7 ypg), completions (3rd, 20.27 cpg) and passing yards (4th, 230.3 ypg), with all numbers also career highs
• Had 40 explosive plays of 20+ yards (35 passing, 5 rushing)
• Nevada - 25-38-1, 177 yards, 1 TD, 28 long, 108.3 passer rating; 6 rushes, -5 yards
• at TCU - 16-27-0, 309 yards, 2 TD, 68 long, 179.8 passer rating; 7 rushes, 43 yards
• Sacramento State - 22-34-1, 288 yards, 45 long, 2 TD, 149.4 passer rating; 4 rushes, 68 yards, 1 TD
• at Washington - 30-41-2, 319 yards, 32 long, 2 TD, 144.9 passer rating; 16 rushes, 71 yards, 1 TD ...career highs in completions and total offense (390)
• Washington State - 14-30-1, 152 yards, 44 long, 82.6 passer rating; 12 rushes, 3 yards, 1 TD
• at Oregon - 25-44-0, 247 yards, 31 long, 119.0 passer rating; 8 rushes, 31 yards, 10 long ... career-high passing attempts
• Colorado - 22-29-0, 225 yards, 2 TD, 31 long, 163.8 passer rating; 10 rushes, 96 yards, 38 long ... career-high rushing yards, longest career rush
• Oregon State - 17-26-0, 262 yards, 3 TD, 41 long, 188.1 passer rating; 10 rushes, 58 yards, 1 TD, 22 long ... career-high passer rating
• at Stanford - 18-27-1, 250 yards, 78 long, 161.5 passer rating; 7 rushes, 59 yards, 25 long ... career-long and Big Game record 84-yard pass for a touchdown to Trevon Clark
• at UCLA - 16-31-2, 125 yards, 26 long, 72.6 passer rating; 16 rushes, 20 yards, 1 TD, 13 long
• USC - 18-21-0, 177 yards, 39 long, 156.5 passer rating; 7 rushes, 12 yards, 19 long ... career-high 85.7% completion percentage
• All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention Preseason (Pro Football Focus)
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Preseason Watch List
• Manning Award Preseason Watch List
• No. 70 Draft Eligible Quarterback (Phil Steele)
• Pac-12 Media Day Representative
Junior (2020)
• Started each of the team's four games and completed 85-of-136 passes (62.5%) for 771 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions for a 120.27 passer rating
• Had a team-high 39 rushing attempts for 75 yards and a team-high two rushing touchdowns
• Had seven explosive plays of 20+ yards with five passing and two rushing
• Completed 28-of-42 passes (66.7%) for 315 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for a 143.71 passer rating (all season highs) at Oregon State, while connecting with Makai Polk on a season-long 52-yard completion at Oregon State and adding five rushes for 11 yards
• Completed 20-of-32 passes (62.5%) for 183 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 120.85 passer rating against Oregon, while adding 10 rushes for seven yards and one touchdown on the ground
• Completed 18-of-33 passes (54.5%) for 122 yards with no touchdowns and one interception for a 79.54 passer rating in the season opener at UCLA, while adding a season-high 11 rushes for six yards including an eight-yard touchdown rush that gave him one rushing touchdown for the fourth consecutive game dating back to the final three contests of his 2019 sophomore campaign
• Completed 19-of-29 passes (65.5%) for 151 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 132.01 passer rating against Stanford, while adding season bests of 13 rushes and 51 yards rushing
• Selected by his teammates as a season captain
• Chosen to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Preseason Watch List
• Named third-team preseason All-Pac-12 by Athlon Sports, Lindy's and Pick Six Previews, while he was a fourth-team selection of Phil Steele
Sophomore (2019)
• Started and played in nine games with the Golden Bears posting a 7-2 record in those contests including a 7-0 mark when he played for more than half of the game
• Missed four full contests and more than half of two others when he was knocked out due to injury (vs. Arizona State, vs. USC)
• Completed 131-of-215 passes (60.9%) for 1270 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions for a career-high 148.86 passer rating that ranks fifth all-time at Cal
• Also had the second-most rushing attempts (90) and rushing touchdowns (3) on the team with one in each of the final three games, as well as the third-most rushing yards (223)
• Had 28 explosive plays of 20+ yards all passing
• Named the Redbox Bowl Offensive MVP after completing 22-of-31 passes (71.0%) for 272 yards with a career-high-tying four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 187.25 passer rating
• Produced one of the most memorable plays in Cal history when he scrambled 16 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:19 remaining in the contest to lift Cal to a 24-20 win in the Big Game at Stanford with the victory snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Cardinal
• Completed 3-of-4 passes for 61 yards on a six-play, 75-yard drive over 1:04 that was capped with the 16-yard touchdown run that produced the game-winning points against Stanford
• Named Cal's Co-Player of the Week along with Nikko Remigio in the win over Stanford, completed 20-of-30 passes for 285 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 157.47 quarterback efficiency rating, while adding 13 rushes for 72 yards including the game-winning touchdown run
• Generated single-game career high passing numbers for yards and touchdown passes when he completed 23-of-35 passes for 357 yards with four touchdown throws including a 60-yarder for a TD at Ole Miss while he also had one interception and a 183.39 quarterback efficiency rating, and rushed 12 times for three yards for 360 yards of total offense
• Was off to excellent start against Arizona State before the injury, completing nine of his first 12 passes for 117 yards with one touchdown for a 184.40 quarterback efficiency rating while rushing four times for a loss of six yards
• Completed 16-of-28 passes for 238 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while adding seven rushes for 18 yards in the season-opener against UC Davis
• Completed 11-of-18 passes for 111 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions while adding 13 rushes for 42 yards at Washington while also engineering a game-winning nine-play, 74-yard drive that ended in Greg Thomas' 17-yard field goal with 0:08 remaining in a 20-19 victory over the then No. 14 Huskies by going 3-for-3 for 50 yards and adding one rush for four
• Rushed a career-high 18 times for 70 yards against North Texas while completing 9-of-22 passes for 129 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 105.16 quarterback efficiency rating
• Returned to action against USC after missing four-plus games with an upper body injury and completed 4-of-10 passes for 33 yards without a touchdown or an interception while rushing four times for three yards but could not complete the contest due to an injury that was unrelated to the one that had kept him out the previous four contests
• Completed 17-of-29 passes for 230 yads with one touchdown and one interception at UCLA while adding eight rushes for 40 yards and one touchdown
• Completed 7-of-10 passes for 60 yards and also scored a touchdown on a four-yard run while finishing with five carries for two yards in the spring game
Freshman (2018)
• Played in 12 games with 10 starts including each of the last seven contests and completed 159-of-260 passes (61.2%) for 1506 yards with 14 touchdown throws and 10 interceptions for a 119.89 passer rating
• Led the team in passing yards and touchdown throws, while pacing the quarterbacks in completion percentage, passer rating and rushing yards
• Also led the squad with 1926 yards of total offense, adding 420 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground on 98 carries as the team's second-leading rusher
• Ranked second among Pac-12 quarterbacks in both total rushing yards behind only the 452 compiled by Arizona State's Manny Wilkins and rushing yards per game with his 35.0 trailing only teammate Brandon McIlwain's 40.3
• Had 24 explosive plays of 20+ yards with 21 passing and three rushing
• Completed 17-of-26 passes for season highs of 234 yards and three touchdown passes including his longest passing play of the season on a 55-yard hookup with Vic Wharton III at Oregon State while adding 54 yards rushing on eight carries for a season-high 288 yards of total offense
• Completed 20-of-25 passes for 224 yards with a season-high-tying three touchdowns and one interception for a 186.86 passer rating against Idaho State while adding 10 rushes for 42 yards
• Completed 22-of-39 passes for 197 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while adding 12 rushes for 44 yards against Stanford
• Completed 18-of-28 passes for 171 yards with two touchdowns including a memorable 52-yard scoring strike to Kanawai Noa and one interception while adding five rushes for 45 yards in his first career start in the second game of the season at BYU
• Completed 16-of-23 passes for 153 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns while adding 10 rushes for two yards against Washington
• Completed 15-of-26 passes for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception while adding 11 rushes for a season-high 66 yards rushing at Washington State
• Also forced his lone career forced fumble and had his only career tackle at Washington State when after throwing an interception forced a fumble at Cal's three-yard line that eventually rolled out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and returned the ball to the Golden Bears
• Completed 14-of-26 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns while adding a season-high-tying 12 rushes for 47 yards vs. Colorado
• Completed 14-of-26 passes for 93 yards and one touchdown while adding six carries for 34 yards including his first career rushing touchdown on a five-yard run as well as a 23-yard carry at USC
• Completed 12-of-19 passes with no touchdowns and three interceptions while adding seven rushes for 23 yards and a score against TCU in the Cheez-It Bowl but did not play in the second half
• Saw the first action of his collegiate career off the bench against North Carolina, completing 7-of-13 passes for 54 yards and one touchdown while rushing 10 times for 39 yards
• Completed 4-of-9 passes for 44 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions against Oregon while adding six rushes for 24 yards
• Played in a single snap off the bench at Arizona
• Did not play against UCLA
• Did not convert on any of three two-point conversion tries, failing on a pair of pass attempts (vs. USC, vs. Colorado) and one run (vs. Washington)
• Completed 8-of-11 passes for 35 yards in the spring game while also being credited with three yards on two rushes
Freshman (2017)
• Redshirted
• Did not play
Corona del Mar HS (Class Of 2017)
• Completed a combined 589-of-854 (69.0%) passes for 7970 yards with 90 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a 129.1 quarterback rating as a prep for teams that won one state championship and four Pacific Coast League crowns while compiling a 47-7 overall record and a perfect 20-0 conference mark
• Registered 9260 yards of total offense, adding another 1290 yards and 27 scores on the ground over 299 carries
• Spent his 2015 junior and 2016 senior campaigns as the team’s full-time starter at quarterback while sharing action as a 2014 sophomore and playing sparingly during his 2013 freshman campaign
• Earned Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year and first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors in each of his final two campaigns while he was also his conference MVP as a senior
• Led his 12-2 squad to the finals of the Southern Section Division 4 postseason and a PCL title in his senior campaign when he boasted career highs in all numbers by completing 254-of-370 passes for 3895 yards with 47 touchdowns and five interceptions for a 137.1 quarterback rating while adding another 582 yards and 11 scores on the ground on 114 rushes
• Completed 226-of-329 passes for 2715 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions for a 123.3 quarterback rating while adding another 457 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 105 carries in his first season as the full-time starter as a junior when his squad won the PCL title and reached the second round of the Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs
• Took on role as a part-time starter as a sophomore and completed 108-of-154 passes for 11 touchdowns with two interceptions while adding 236 yards rushing and nine scores on 77 carries for a squad that was 10-2, won the PCL and reached the second round of the Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs
• Freshman squad was first team in California history to finish 16-0 and won the Division 3 state and PCL titles
• Wore No. 3 in his final three campaigns of football after wearing No. 16 as a freshman
Other
• Born June 6, 1999
• Son of Grant and Angelique Garbers
• Father played collegiate golf at Georgia from 1982-85
• Graduated from Cal in May of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in political economy with a concentration in international trade and policy before adding a graduate certificate in business administration in December of 2021
Last Updated
March 1, 2022
