Cal Football: Final Exams Over, Coming Months Are Cloudy for Chase Garbers

COVID-19 pandemic leaves more questions than answers for college football

Chase Garbers was in a good mood Friday. Why not? Final exams were over.

“Officially, I’m done with spring semester,” Cal’s junior-to-be quarterback said.

His most challenging exam?

“Intermediate micro-economics — that was definitely the toughest,” he said.

Bottom line: All good.”

Garbers wishes he could have that kind of hands-on impact on the uncertainty hanging over the 2020 college football season. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has turned the world inside out, also has affected Garbers, his Cal teammates and every collegiate football player awaiting word on the status of the game they love.

“There’s a lot of things that go into your head when you think about this football season,” Garbers said.

For the Bears, there is a lot at stake. They expect to have their best team in four seasons under coach Justin Wilcox and would prefer to get a running start at things with their existing schedule, which has them opening Aug. 29 at UNLV.

The offensive returns virtually intact after finally finding its rhythm late season. Garbers, who overcame a broken collarbone and a concussion last season, passed for 787 yards with six touchdowns and just one interception and ran for three TDs in the final three games as Cal beat Stanford, UCLA and Illinois to close out an 8-5 season.

The defense lost consensus All-America linebacker Evan Weaver and safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jaylin Hawkins — all three selected in last month’s NFL draft — but still figures to be very solid.

Wilcox checks in with players via Zoom every week or so, Garbers said, but his conversations with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave are more old-school.

“Coach Musgrave is not a big Zoom guy,” Garbers said. “He’s more a call-you-on-the-phone type. We get phone calls and texts every once in a while.”

Wilcox isn’t able to offer concrete updates about the season because the situation remains fluid, with day-to-day changes.

I asked Garbers about the various scenarios he’s heard.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of talk about playing without fans, which would definitely be a different environment. Almost like a practice setting with jerseys,” Garbers said.

“There’s rumors that the season might get pushed back or postponed to a further date. Who knows what will happen there. So once again, you’ve got to just play it ear. Kind of roll with things.”

The craziest scenario?

“Besides canceling the season, is probably the spring season,” he said.

Asked what he expects will eventually happen, Garbers said he really has no idea.

“I’m not so sure with how things are going right now. It comes down to the states, I think,” he said, referring to the fact that the six states comprising the Pac-12 Conference aren’t likely to be on the same timetable for opening up in a return to a sense of normal.

“You never know what could happen three months from now or six months from now,” Garbers shrugged, “so who knows?”