UCLA football will be fielding three quarterbacks for Saturday’s season opener against Coastal Carolina, but only one person will be snapping them the ball.
“It’s the exact same thing,” center Duke Clemens said. “We get enough reps in practice with all three quarterbacks, so I know the different voices and the way it feels under center. So if I know who I’m running with, then I know we’ll be in good shape.”
Clemens and his fellow offensive linemen have worked to build trust with the three quarterbacks who will play – Ethan Garbers, Dante Moore and Collin Schlee – since spring camp.
Garbers will take the first snap against Coastal Carolina and played six games last season as a backup to Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Moore, a freshman and former five-star recruit, and Schlee, a transfer from Kent State, will also get playing time, although Chip Kelly hasn’t articulated how that time will be shared.
As UCLA oscillates among quarterbacks, Clemens’ veteran presence as a fifth-year senior on the line is comforting to the signal-callers.
“The main person that starts it is Duke,” Moore said. “I knew Duke coming in, I know he’s been here many years and he pulled me to the side and said, ‘I got you.’”
Josh Carlin, a senior, provides more stability on the line after getting into nine games last season on special teams and as a backup. Moore said he constantly sees Carlin and Clemens together in the locker room and when they’re out to eat. He’s observant of their friendship and how they communicate.
“It’s been me and Josh since the beginning, really,” Clemens said. “He’s kind of understood the process and what it takes to kind of be successful at college football, so it’s just been good to talk to him like on our intellectual level as well. Just like going over plays, things about life.”
Clemens is supportive of putting three quarterbacks in Saturday’s game, a sentiment many other Bruins have shared. That includes running back Carson Steele, who is roommates with Schlee.
“People on the outside would be like ‘Man, three quarterbacks going into one game, that’s one of the craziest things I’ve heard,’” Steele said. “But if you look at it from a player standpoint, all these dudes have put in so much work and you can see that each one of them has their own ability to do something.”
Routines and reps
The Bruins are nearly midway through their first game week of the season and the anticipation of walking into the Rose Bowl – and hitting someone other than a teammate – has set in.
“I’m so excited,” Steele said. “Coach Kelly does a great job of keeping everybody up in practice and stuff like that and you kind of get that itch. You’ve been waiting to be able to try to hurdle somebody.”
Steele will be making his first appearance in a UCLA uniform after transferring from Ball State. He said he plans to get at least eight hours of sleep the night before the game and stick to his usual superstitions of doing everything right to left the day of the game – despite being left-handed.
The running back also spends the night before taking mental reps and visualizing himself playing well, a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy powered by melatonin and fueled by the week’s preparation.
“If you imagine you’re gonna do good, there’s kind of that vibe that you’ll play good,” Steele said. “If you kind of imagine you’re doing bad, it’s not gonna be too good. So I’m always trying to think positive. Especially being able to go over my playbook, stuff like that.”
Steele’s mindset fits into UCLA’s as a whole. Kelly said that he doesn’t believe in the “gamer” concept, the theory that a player can rely on talent and instinct to rise to the occasion and perform well despite a lack of preparation.
“We get so many reps and so many things that I don’t think there’s going to be something that any of those guys do to surprise you,” Kelly said. “We don’t subscribe to the gamer concept, we subscribe to that’s how they train.”
Even with all the preparation, players still face nerves, including the experienced Clemens. He relies on hitting every step in practice and every repetition in the weight room to calm his nerves, putting faith in what he’s done leading up to the game.
His experience has also made him perceptive to other players’ nerves and which ones are truly mentally ready to play.
“When they try to overthink things, you can kind of notice them kind of playing slow,” Clemens said. “If you know your playbook, then you play faster, right? So just that. It’s seeing the guys that are putting the time and the work for the playbook and running the plays. You can tell they’re ready for it because of how fast they play.”
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