Josh Carlin, starting center for the UCLA football team, hunched his 6-foot-5, 310-pound frame towards the microphone in the press conference that followed the Bruins’ 34-13 loss to Oregon on Saturday night.
When he spoke of quarterback Ethan Garbers, he referred to him directly by his nickname each time. Never “the quarterback,” “our quarterback” or any other generic term.
“I need to continue to get all my guys and continue to hold myself to a high standard of not allowing Garbs to get hit so much,” Carlin, a first-year starter, said. “That’s the biggest nightmare as an offensive lineman.”
Garbers was sacked four times in the loss to the Ducks and had -18 net rushing yards as a result. The quarterback who stuck with the Bruins for his entire college career is continuously facing pressure from defenses, and UCLA is collectively feeling the weight of it.
UCLA was held to a season-low 118 passing yards on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl a week after the Bruins recorded a season-high of 281 against LSU.
“I thought after the first series, we kind of figured out the rhythm and kind of figured out what they were going to be doing,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said after the game. “And guys can do a good job attacking.”
Garbers, who has been sacked 12 times this season, was limping at times and had a taped left ankle but remained in the game until the fourth quarter despite running with the balance of a newborn deer.
Head coach DeShaun Foster said after the game that he kept Garbers in because of his competitive drive and unwillingness to leave the field — a characteristic that Foster had himself even as a high school player.
“He just loved playing the game,” Myron Miller, Foster’s coach at Tustin, said.
“He has a great pain threshold. I remember one game, they had a quarterback that we couldn’t stop. (Foster) just scored a touchdown and he came off and was limping really, really bad. And the quarterback went right down and scored. I walked over to DeShaun and I said, ‘We need you one more time.’”
He went in and scored a 60-yard touchdown then limped back off the field and onto the bench without saying a word.
But there was no return for Garbers after he took a big hit in the fourth quarter. Foster did not disclose if the quarterback had entered concussion protocol and Garbers did not address the media during the postgame press conference.
“The guys up front have to protect him and keep him from getting hit and keep him from falling on the ground,” Foster said. “It’s hard to play quarterback when you’re not upright. He’s a tough kid and is trying to find ways to make plays. It’s unfortunate what’s happening but I’m riding with him no matter what.”
Offensive line coach Juan Castillo, who coached for 30 years in the NFL, had his players come onto the field on Saturday before even getting into uniforms to go through drills. It was one of many attempts to incrementally improve the line’s play.
“Coach Castillo is a huge technique guy,” Carlin said. “Castillo’s doing his best with the guys that he has and the technique that he has. We need to continue to get better and figure out as soon as possible what we need to do to protect Garbs.”
