There will be no mystery at quarterback when UCLA opens the season Saturday against Coastal Carolina at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Well, actually, it's at least clear who the starter will be.
Bruins head coach Chip Kelly announced before Monday morning's practice that redshirt junior Ethan Garbers will start the game, but five-star freshman Dante Moore and Kent State transfer Collin Schlee will also see action.
"All three of them deserve to play, they’ve all played outstanding," Kelly said. "It’s been a really good battle with those guys, a healthy competition and they all have earned playing time.
"But Ethan will take the first snap. Ethan has the most experience in our offense, so Ethan will start the game and you’ll see Collin and you will also see Dante.
"Ethan’s been here the longest in our system, so that’s why Ethan’s starting."
After practice, Garbers said that while being tabbed the starter feels "great," the work has only just begun.
"Now it’s time to get to work and win some games this year," said Garbers, who added that he learned of the decision prior to Sunday's practice.
The transfer from Washington was UCLA's primary backup to Dorian Thompson-Robinson each of the past two seasons. In the spring, Garbers handled the bulk of the unofficial first-team repetitions.
Moore said the opportunity to play in his first collegiate game as part of the three-quarterback system is "a true blessing," while Schlee said it is "something special" to be part of the group.
"I’ve been up there before, but I know playing in the Rose Bowl for sure is going to be insane with the great fans and really just understand I’m in college football now," Moore said. "It’s not like high school no more. You know, I’m in college football where things got intense and I’m just truly blessed. I know there’s still a lot of work to be done but I can’t wait."
Schlee, who appeared in 11 of Kent State's 12 games last season, saw his playing time cut into last November and split time with then-freshman Devin Kargman.
So, he said, the idea of splitting duties is not a foreign concept and the competition going back to the spring "really brought the best out of me."
"You know, at Kent I had a pretty secure position and I kind of maybe fell back on that too much," Schlee said. "So, now, I'm really competing every day, coming out with a good attitude, good mindset just to get better every day.
"I'm not gonna run away from competition. I don't think any of these guys are. So, you know, we've got a great quarterback room and that's what we all want. We want great people around us so we can even be greater than we are."
Kelly added that a formal plan for when to use Moore and Schlee will be determined by the end of the week.
"It is a unique situation, but they deserve to play and it's the only fair way to do it," Kelly said. "They're all competing at a really, really high level. To say, all right, we're just going to pick him and the other two guys gotta sit -- that's just not the way it should go. We said we were going to have this, it was going to be organic and it was going to be authentic and that's what it is right now, and those guys are real comfortable with it."
