Cal Football: Who Becomes the Golden Bears' Quarterback in 2022?

Two freshmen will compete in the spring but Cal is also likely to sign a veteran.

With the news Tuesday that Chase Garbers is moving on to pursue his NFL dreams and Wednesday, when Cal did not include a quarterback in its signing class, we’re left with the obvious and significant question:

Who will quarterback the Golden Bears in 2022?

Here are the options, with our prediction for the chance each has to become the Bears’ starter:

— A veteran who emerges from the transfer portal. Coach Justin Wilcox said the scenario is entirely possible, and could happen soon. Names that have surfaced include Nebraska’s Adrian Martinez, who reportedly made a campus visit and is a native of Fresno. The Sporting News was projecting Martinez would wind up in Berkeley, but on Thursday afternoon he chose Kansas State.

Kedon Slovis / Photo by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today

Another possibility is Jack Plummer, who began last season as the starter at Purdue before being replaced by Adrian O'Connell. Former USC star Kedon Slovis, the 2020 All-Pac-12 quarterback, still hasn’t decided on a new address. There are others in the crowded transfer portal as well.

*** Chance a transfer is the starter in the 2022 opener: 55 percent

Until and unless the Bears find a veteran transfer, they are left with these candidates, starting with the two freshmen, neither of whom has taken a college snap. Wilcox talks about the two young quarterbacks in the videos at the top of this story and immediately above:

— Second-year freshman Zach Johnson. The second-year freshman from Valencia, passed for 5,680 yards and 57 touchdowns in two seasons at Hart High School, the alma mater of former Cal QBs Kyle Boller and Joe Kapp. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder was a consensus 3-star prospect in high school.

Here’s Wilcox on Johnson:

“Zach, little bit different style (than Millner). He’ll kind of get out on the perimeter, will make some plays with his feet. He can throw the ball. He’s not the tallest guy in the world at the quarterback position but he is kind of a point guard playing the QB position. He can make some plays. He’s a competitor — has got a lot of intangible qualities that can help him as a football player.”

*** Chance of being Cal’s starter in the 2022 opener: 20 percent

— Freshman Kai Millner. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Gilbert, Arizona, just completed his first fall at Berkeley. He passed for 4,564 yards and 46 touchdowns during his career at Higley High School, earning a four-star rating from 247Sports composite.

Wilcox on Millner:

“Kai can really throw the ball. He gets the ball out quick. I think the receivers really like the way it travels. He’s a very smooth operator when it comes to throwing the ball. He can also run. Again, that position, experience can really make a difference. Learning the offense and getting comfortable in it. He’s gotten much better, which is to be expected. Still has a ton of room to grow, but I do know he’s a very. very eager guy. Kai, when he walks down the hall and you see him, it seems like he’s always beaming. He’s got a got a smile on his face, eager to be here and learn.”

*** Chance of being Cal’s starter in the 2022 opener: 20 percent

Garbers talks about Johnson and Millner in the video below and discusses the difference between practice reps and game action:

— Graduate senior Ryan Glover. Came to Cal last summer after stints at Penn and Western Carolina. Glover has not indicated whether or not he will use his extra COVID year of eligibility, and it’s unclear whether coaching staff would welcome him back.

Glover is the only quarterback besides Garbers who took a snap for the Bears this season, and he did so under dire conditions, with the team missing 24 players due to COVID for a 10-3 loss at Arizona.

But he played 16 games at Penn, including 10 as a starter in 2018, and started six games at Western Carolina in the spring of 2021. So Glover is by far the most experienced of Cal’s current quarterbacks but he has just one year of eligibility left.

*** Chance of being Cal’s starter in the 2022 opener: 4 percent

— Fifth-year senior Robby Rowell. A walk-on from nearby Lafayette, Rowell knows the offense and gets praise from the coaching staff but has appeared in just one game over four seasons, in mop-up duty at Utah two years ago.

*** Chance of being Cal’s starter in the 2022 opener: 1 percent

Cover photo of quarterbacks, from left, Kai Millner, Ryan Glover, Chase Garbers, Robby Rowell and Zach Johnson by Stan Szeto, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo