Tag: Justyn Martin

Going deep on UCLA’s quarterback depth in 2025

The Bruins lack experience at quarterback heading into 2025. This could be a wild ride.

Though football season is many months away, the UCLA Bruins are hard at work building their program for 2025. After a bevy of offseason moves along the coaching staff and in the transfer portal, UCLA football head coach DeShaun Foster’s team will look very different in 2025. The most notable shakeup for the 2025 season will be the quarterback position.

After finishing his redshirt senior season, former Bruin Ethan Garbers will no longer be with the program, leaving a significant hole in the lineup. In an up-and-down season with the Bruins, Garbers finished with 2,727 yards on 69.6% passing with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

In addition to Garbers’ departure, the Bruins lost three more quarterbacks. Chase Griffin and Nick Billoups finished their final season of eligibility with the Bruins after the 2024 season. After starting one game last season against Penn State, the Bruins lost Justyn Martin to the transfer portal.

Today, the Bruins have only four remaining quarterbacks on their roster heading into 2025, not including incoming freshmen, none of whom have taken a snap in the Big Ten, let alone the NCAA.  The Bruins quarterback room consists of rising sophomores Henry Hasselbeck, Dermaricus Davis, Karson Gordon, and redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan.

Though the transfer portal could change the Bruins’ fortunes in an instant, at the moment, UCLA has a severe lack of experience at the quarterback position.

As the offseason turns into the preseason for UCLA, the quarterback competition will begin to heat up, and front-runners for the job will emerge.

For newly hired Tino Sunseri, his abilities as both a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator will be tested as he and the coaching staff separate the wheat from the chaff in the UCLA quarterback room.

Florida to host UCLA transfer quarterback on official visit

The first round of transfer portal targets are visiting Florida this week, including former UCLA quarterback Justyn Martin.

The Florida Gators are looking to add some depth at quarterback behind [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], who is locked in as the starter for 2025. UCLA transfer [autotag]Justyn Martin[/autotag] is an emerging name out of the portal, and he’ll be on campus Wednesday for an official visit, according to 247Sports and On3.

A former four-star prospect, Martin appeared in three games for the Bruins in 2024, completing 24 of 35 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. He redshirted in 2022 and has exhausted two of his four years of eligibility. The Gators have not offered Martin yet.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Martin is the eighth-best quarterback and 58th-best player in the portal, according to 247Sports’ transfer rankings. On3 does not rate him as highly, with Martin checking in at No. 18 at his position and No. 160 overall in the portal. Both services have him listed as a three-star transfer.

Martin would have a strong chance to begin the spring as Florida’s backup quarterback, with true freshman Tramell Jones and Colorado State transfer Clay Millen on the roster.

Florida has also reached out to Central Michigan transfer Joe Labas, a redshirt junior, but no visit is set up at publishing time.

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UCLA Bruins drop to 1-5 after loss to Minnesota

The UCLA Bruins extended their losing streak after another poor offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins have suffered several tough Big Ten losses this season, none more crushing than on Saturday night. Extending their losing streak to five games, the Bruins fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 21-17 at home.

UCLA held the lead with two minutes remaining, 17-14, but a defensive breakdown inside the five by the Bruins allowed a four-yard touchdown pass from Golden Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer. With only 27 seconds remaining, the Bruins trailed by four.

On the ensuing UCLA possession, the offense stalled.

Questionable entering the game with an ankle injury, quarterback Ethan Garbers started over Justyn Martin, finishing with 23 of 32 passing with 263 yards, a pair of interceptions, and a touchdown in the losing effort.

UCLA’s rushing offense continued to underwhelm, only averaging a dismal 1.4 yards per carry on 26 attempts for 36 yards, a testament to offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s lackluster coaching.

Head coach DeShaun Foster and the Bruins head back to the drawing board looking for answers after dropping an important game that was within their grasp.

Traveling east next Saturday to take on Rutgers, UCLA looks to snap their losing streak and find their first win in the Big Ten.

DeShaun Foster staying coy amid QB1 questions

Who will be the starter? Only time will tell.

Ethan Garbers is recovering from the injury that kept him out against Penn State. Justyn Martin is looking for another start after showing what he was capable of against the Nittany Lions.

With a home game against Minnesota in Week 7, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster remains mum on who will be the starter, at least as of Wednesday and Thursday.

While a final word will be available soon, Foster revealed why he isn’t showing his hand, per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times.

“I have an opponent that’s for sure looking at what you guys post,” Foster told reporters, “so that’s why it is what it is. If I could tell you guys and you wouldn’t post it, I would tell you, but that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen.”

Only time will tell who will start for UCLA, but Foster is trying to keep some things hidden.

DeShaun Foster pumps up Justyn Martin’s poise after Penn state game

The poise stood out.

The UCLA Bruins somehow have a quarterback competition brewing. While Ethan Garbers has gotten off to a sluggish start this season, Justyn Martin got the nod against Penn State due to Garbers being injured.

The Bruns lost, 27-11, but Martin’s first start had quite a bit of positive takeaways.

On such takeaway was the poise he showed, as DeShaun Foster said, per Mike Regalado of Bruin Report Online.

“It says a lot. You know, Justyn came out and played a good game, able to stay ahead of the chains in some situations and stuff. You know, other situations we might have wanted to do differently, but the fact that where we played at and the way that he played, that was really a positive. So, I’m happy with how Justyn played, and Sam Yoon was also in there for his first time, too. So that was also good to have two guys that haven’t played and in that type of environment it was good that they were able to show up.”

It was a tough Big Ten environment with a packed crowd, and Martin looked like an experienced quarterback. That could be a sign of promise for UCLA.

Will UCLA football be better with Justyn Martin?

UCLA’s quarterback change could improve the offense as a whole.

UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster made the biggest coaching decision of his career in Westwood last weekend.

Benching starting quarterback Ethan Garbers for up-and-coming signal-caller Justyn Martin, Foster made the change ahead of their losing effort to Penn State.

On the season, Garbers completed 67 of 117 passes for 808 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. Naturally, Foster made the change to reinvigorate a sliding Bruins team in hopes of picking up some wins down the stretch.

Martin has only attempted 35 passes in his college football career, all of which came against Penn State last Saturday. But the quarterback change could breathe new life into the sluggish Bruins offense.

Though not as athletic as Garbers, Martin is a decisive passer who could lend himself to a more conventional, efficient offense. For a Bruins team looking to “get back to the basics,” Martin offers the Bruins a chance to move the chains effectively and avoid the back-breaking turnovers that have plagued the Bruins thus far.

If Foster continues to play Martin, expect a relatively smooth offensive attack and the Bruins to be competitive well into the second half going forward.

Can UCLA football save their first season in the Big Ten?

As the Bruins schedule gets easier, they have a chance to save their first season in the Big Ten.

For UCLA Bruins football fans, the 2024 college football season has been one big bad dream. Suffering another blowout loss to Penn State, the Bruins fell to the bottom of the Big Ten standings in their first season in the conference.

The first year under head coach DeShaun Foster has resembled Murphy’s Law, where “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” At 1-4 and amid a quarterback change, the Bruins season looks to be lost.

That said, UCLA’s schedule does get markedly easier from here on out. With USC and Nebraska being the only remaining Top-25 teams on their schedule, the Bruins have a chance to slowly but surely change their fortunes by picking up potential wins.

Given how the Bruins have played through six weeks, it is hard to imagine their struggling offense scoring north of 20 points, but as their schedule softens Foster and Co. have a chance to start building an identity.

With Justyn Martin taking the reins of the offense, UCLA’s offense could show steady improvements and win a small handful of games.

A near .500 record for the Bruins in their first season in the Big Ten could go a long way in settling the program and establishing an identity as talented recruits make their way to Westwood in the coming years.

Photos from UCLA Bruins loss to Penn State

UCLA’s loss to Penn State through the lens.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their second-straight game to a Big Ten opponent on the road this week, falling to #7 Penn State 27-11 and the bottom of the standings.

Though the Bruins defense held its ground against a dynamic Nittany Lions offense, UCLA’s offense, on the other hand, played an unfortunately characteristic game. Accumulating only 260 yards of total offense, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s impact on the Bruins offense has yet to be seen.

Hopefully, with a quarterback change from the floundering Ethan Garbers to Justyn Martin, the Bruins could show some signs of life as their schedule gets softer down the stretch.

In the meantime, questions of DeShaun Foster’s legitimacy as a Big Ten-caliber coach remain. Here are the best photos from UCLA’s game at Penn State.

UCLA football loses to Penn State in embarassing fashion

UCLA dropped another Big Ten game after another dismal offensive performance.

The UCLA Bruins dropped their third straight game of the 2024 college football season to No. 7 Penn State 27-11. Their second-straight loss to a Big Ten opponent, after losing to Oregon last week, not even a quarterback change could bolster the Bruins offense.

Head coach DeShaun Foster made the change from the struggling Ethan Garbers to sophomore Justyn Martin, who finished with 167 yards on 22-30 passing with a touchdown. Though Martin showed some surprising success in a hostile environment, the change was not enough to be a deciding factor.

The Bruins offense mustered only 11 points, with eight of them scored within the final thirty seconds. Unable to run the ball once again, with the team accumulating a meager 93 yards on 29 carries, UCLA’s offense was as ugly as it was inefficient.

Where the Bruins go from here, however, will be interesting to watch unfold.

The quarterback change will likely stick, as the younger, more dynamic Martin offers the Bruins a higher upside with the potential to grow. But if UCLA’s offense continues to underwhelm, Bruins fans could be in for a long season as they take on a frisky Minnesota team at home in only one week.

Oct 5, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster claps his hands from the sideline during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

UCLA Bruins backup quarterback job remains open

Who will take the spot?

The start of UCLA’s season is only a few weeks away, but the Bruins still have things to sort out along the roster.

Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers locked up the starting job last season with the Bruins, edging out recent Oregon transfer Dante Moore down the stretch. But the Bruins still have yet to name an official backup quarterback behind him.

According to the Los Angeles Times’ Ben Bolch, UCLA quarterback coach Ted White said the backup spot remains open, but noted that one player in particular has taken most of the reps with the second team. Assuming the role is rising sophomore Justyn Martin.

With the season just around the corner, it is safe to assume Martin will be the number two quarterback on the depth chart come opening day. Though the position battle may still be open, as White noted, the likelihood that anyone else on the roster unseats him this far into the offseason.