Pac-12 Dumps Transfer Rule, Garbers Obtains UCLA Eligibility

Once the Pac-12 Conference eliminated its intraconference transfer rule on Tuesday — requiring an athlete to sit out a season when moving from one member school to another — Ethan Garbers was the first in line asking for his eligibility.

Last December, the former University of Washington freshman quarterback transferred to UCLA, only to learn that Jimmy Lake's coaching staff would block his request to play immediately for the Bruins, which was Lake's right.

The UW previously did this with Colson Yankoff, another former Husky QB originally from Idaho and now a reserve wide receiver who transferred to UCLA, and he had to sit out the 2019 season.

The rule was put in place to discourage Pac-12 schools from raiding the rosters of conference rivals.

However, the Pac-12 voted unanimously to remove the rule, which means the UW voted to get rid of it, too.

“The Pac-12 mission is to develop the next generation of leaders in academics and athletics,” said Michael Schill, University of Oregon president Pac-12 CEO Group chairman. “Providing student-athletes with more flexibility in choosing their path and greater representation in the Pac-12 governance process strengthens our commitment to achieving that mission.”

Garbers, the younger brother of California senior quarterback Chase Garbers, was a little more emphatic about his situation.

"It's about time!" he tweeted.

Thank you! About time! #Freeman #4sup
— Ethan Garbers (@ethan_garbers3) May 19, 2021

The UW was painted as the bad guy by some in the California media for exercising its option to block Garbers and Yankoff from playing right away. What those reporters didn't know, or chose to ignore, is most Pac-12 schools had refused to give waivers to interconference transfers if they had the choice, including UCLA.

The Orange County Register, citing a recruiting analyst, reported that Garbers was close to choosing UCLA coming out of Corona del Mar High School in the Los Angeles area, that the Bruins then tried to encourage him to break his commitment once Chris Petersen stepped down as Husky coach at the end of 2019 and they gladly welcomed him on campus earlier this year.

“He nearly picked UCLA coming out of high school before ultimately picking Washington,” Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting editor for 247Sports, told the OCR. “When Chris Petersen retired and Jimmy Lake took over (as Washington head coach), UCLA took one more run at [Garbers] and he almost flipped but stuck with Washington.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Garbers was a 4-star recruit who remains highly regarded at both UCLA and the UW. Yet even with his newfound eligibility, he might be hard-pressed to get on the field this season.

The Bruins return starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson and well-utilized backup Chase Griffin, who have taken most of the snaps during UCLA's spring football practice now in progress.

As for Garbers, UCLA coach Chip Kelly said the young quarterback has "looked sharp and picked things up quickly."

Garbers, even while sitting out last season at the UW, has five years to play four seasons for the Bruins.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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