Cal Football: Chase Garbers Delivers Strong Outing in NFLPA Collegiate Bowl
Former Cal quarterback Chase Garbers drove his American team to two touchdowns but the National squad rallied for a 25-24 victory in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl all-star game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday afternoon.
“It was really fun, a great experience,” Garbers said in a phone interview.
Garbers completed 10 of 13 pass attempts for 119 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He also had two rushes for 25 yards in a performance which certainly didn’t hurt his chances of earning a positive response from NFL scouts.
Here is Garbers' touchdown pass:
“I think overall I played pretty well. Only had three incompletions. I managed the huddle, managed the game pretty well," Garbers said. “I was calm, confident, comfortable.”
The teams had five days of practice in preparation for Saturday, working out in front of as many as 200 NFL scouts and personnel people from all 32 teams, Garbers said. Game plans were kept pretty basic.
“It’s different than a usual game because you’re playing with bunch of guys you’ve never played with before, learning a whole new offense,” he said. “There’s no scouting of the other team. You just kind of had to know what you were going to run.”
Garbers said he had interaction with NFL folks during the week at the hotel, where both the teams and the scouts were staying.
“They would watch practice and at the the hotel they’d grab you and you’d sit down and talk,” he said. “It was really an eye-opening experience.”
Garbers is still hoping to land an invitation to the NFL combine camp and looks forward to Cal’s pro day on March 16.
Tight end Jake Tonges caught two passes from Garbers for 27 yards. Outside linebacker Cameron Goode played for the winning National squad in the first post-collegiate all-star game of the year.
Garbers drew the starting assignment and got his team past midfield after a 15-yard completion to Tonges, who fumbled the ball away after a hit by Goode.
"Jake had a phenomenal week of practice," Garbers said. "Cam did great. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of interaction during the week because he was on the other team."
After Tonges' fumble, the American defense got the ball back on an interception by Greg Ellsworth II and Garbers was back on the field.
He directed a 14-play, 75-yard drive in which he completed 5-for-7 for 55 yards, including a 12-yarder to Tonges, and had a seven-yard run. Garbers got his team on the scoreboard with a 13-yard touchdown pass on a to slant to former Sam Houston wide receiver Jequez Ezzard with 1:03 left in the first quarter.
The American squad used three quarterbacks in the game but Garbers was back on the field early in the fourth quarter of a 17-all game.
He completed a 27-yard pass to Dai’Jean Dixon of Nicholls State on the first play of the possession and took the team 63 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Garbers was 3-for-4 for 45 yards on the drive, which was capped by an 18-yard touchdown run from former USC running back Vavae Malepeai, making it 24-17 with 8:15 to play.
The National squad went in front after a 5-yard TD run by Sherman Jones of Arkansas and a two-point pass from Southeastern Louisiana’s Cole Kelley to former Indiana tight end Payton Hendershot with 4:07 left.
Aqeel Glass of Alabama A&M quarterbacked the American squad on the game’s final possession, which ended on a missed 48-yard field goal try by James McCourt of Illinois as time expired.
Cover photo of former Cal quarterback Chase Garbers by John Hefti, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
