UCLA Football: DeShaun Foster Confirms Who Starter Will Be When Ethan Garbers Returns

Foster does not appear to be considering a longterm quarterback change

Eva Geitheim | Oct 6, 2024

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UCLA Bruins

Redshirt sophomore Justyn Martin might have shown promise in his first career start Saturday at Penn State, but UCLA football head coach DeShaun Foster maintains that this is Ethan Garbers' team.

Garbers exited early during the Bruins' loss to Oregon last week. He was seen limping off the field, and Martin came in to replace him at the end of the game. On Saturday, the Bruins made a game-time decision to start Martin at Penn State.

"If it wasn’t as slick as it was out there, the turf conditions were just a little bit better, he might have been able to go," Foster said, via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. "But I didn’t want to put him in a bad situation & the type of competitor that Ethan was, he wanted to play. So that was me that held him out."

DeShaun Foster:"If it wasn’t as slick as it was out there, the turf conditions were just a little bit better, he might have been able to go.But I didn’t want to put him in a bad situation & the type of competitor that Ethan was, he wanted to play. So that was me that held him out
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 5, 2024

Through the first four weeks of the season, Garbers has completed just 57.3 percent of his passes for 808 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions. It hasn't been pretty for Garbers, who previously claimed his place as the starter thanks to his stellar performance coming off the bench last December in the LA Bowl.

Instead of following up on their performance at the end of last year, Garbers has struggled behind a poor offensive line. He has also been responsible for part of the offense's woes, but Foster still believes in his quarterback.

"This is Ethan’s team," Foster said, via Bolch. "He’s our quarterback and I think everybody has rallied behind him. But the type of player that Justyn is I think he’ll understand the situation, and he’ll continue to get reps and just continue to get more growth throughout the season.”

DeShaun Foster: "This is Ethan’s team. He’s our quarterback and I think everybody has rallied behind him. But the type of player that Justyn is I think he’ll understand the situation, and he’ll continue to get reps and just continue to get more growth throughout the season.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) October 5, 2024

This is a stark difference from last season when Garbers was benched for freshman Dante Moore after he played poorly early in the year. He did become the starter again later in the season, but never fully could call the position his.

While Martin played well, particularly when it came to accurately delivering the ball to his receivers, the offensive game plan did give him the easy, short completions to help him get off to a strong start, which included completing all of his first six pass attempts. Martin was unable to push the ball down the field. Martin was going up against a pesky Penn State defense and secondary.