Spring camp is not a time UCLA quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson starts thinking about who will take over for the program’s all-time passing leader, Dorian Thompson-Robinson — even if that’s what’s on everyone else’s mind.

The order of rotation and which quarterback has the GoPro camera — for what it’s worth, Ethan Garbers has had sole possession of it — are not an indication of an early leader in the wide-open competition, Gunderson said.

Also, for what it’s worth, redshirt freshman Justyn Martin and Kent State transfer Collin Schlee have handled significantly fewer repetitions than Garbers and freshman Dante Moore in the final 11-on-11 periods of practice for the past week.

“I just don’t think anybody is good enough or playing consistently well enough on a day-to-day basis to where you can worry about competing against somebody else,” Gunderson said after the Bruins’ 11th practice of spring camp. “They’ve all got individual stuff to worry about. We’ll cross that road when we get to it.

“It’s not really a competition, in that sense. It’s just building them all up to the highest point we can get them and then we’ll see how it sorts out.”

Garbers, the backup to Thompson-Robinson each of the past two seasons, is the signal-caller with the greatest knowledge of the playbook and game reps in head coach Chip Kelly’s system.

Now, Gunderson said, the redshirt junior has to show it each practice, throw after throw.

“He’s been here, he’s mature, he’s older now,” Gunderson said. “He knows why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s not always the what or the how, it’s a little deeper understanding. But he’s working to find a real consistency. That’s what we need him to be, is really steady. We know exactly what he’s going to do with the ball when it’s his turn.”

On the other end of the experience spectrum is the 17-year-old Moore, a five-star early enrollee who was the No. 4-ranked high school player overall in the 2023 class. The decision-making and quick release are among his strongest traits, Kelly and Gunderson said.

When practices and classes are over, Gunderson added that Moore has been a constant presence in the Wasserman Football facility and has shown to be “a football junkie.”

“On the field, Dante has as quick a release and is as accurate as you’ll see,” Gunderson said. “It’s that age-old: I have a huge arm and I can hold onto it a little longer, or I have a quick release and I’m really accurate. He is quick and accurate and it’s really impressive.

“Off the field, he’s always up there, he is always in that building. Smile on his face, fun to be around. He’s been a joy, so far.”

Schlee has the most game experience, with games against national champion Georgia, a No.7 Oklahoma team and another on the road at Washington in his first collegiate start last season. The adjustment through the first week of camp at UCLA was enough for him to know it would be an up-and-down process.

The rough spots have continued to show, with just four practices remaining, as Schlee’s accuracy and his strong arm have yet to come together and stack consecutive days.

Gunderson said he’s been able to relate to Schlee through their shared connection with Minnesota tight ends coach Andrew Sowder, who was Schlee’s offensive coordinator at Kent State.

Gunderson and Sowder worked together for a year at San Jose State in 2017. Sowder brought the system with him to Kent State.

“There’s some, ‘Hey, Collin, this is like this,’” Gunderson said of his interactions with Schlee to help him better understand Kelly’s offense through his experience with Sowder. “We can kind of work through that a little bit. It’s very different. There are some similar things, but it’s different. There’s a lot of stuff that might be new to him that we kind of work through.

“Like you said, big, live arm. It’s as strong as I’ve seen. Then, a really, really impressive athlete, too. But he’s just getting used to something that’s totally different. He’s played college football — which is really good, he’s going to understand the speed.”

After a strong first two weeks, Martin has regressed to the point where his repetitions for the past week at the end of practices have dwindled down to a single series here and there.

Gunderson said Martin has still managed to find moments and make the most of the opportunities.

During Thursday’s situational work in the redzone, Martin found receiver Josiah Norwood for a 7-yard touchdown. In the final 11-on-11 period, he adjusted to a heavy pass rush on a previous play and came back to find freshman receiver Jeremiah McClure for a first down while facing third-and-11.

“He did a nice job today,” Gunderson said. “We got him in there. We’re kind of rolling guys, seeing what they can do. Whatever you guys see out here, there’s some give and take and different reps on different days.

“But he does a nice job. Justyn’s arm and athleticism are high level. We’re kind of trying to get him to go a little more, run a little bit, kind of be a little more of a threat to the defense. But he’s doing a nice job, he’s coming along well.”

The group of quarterbacks understand there will ultimately be one starter, and Gunderson credited fifth-string quarterback Chase Griffin, a fifth-year senior, for his leadership to maintain the harmony.

“You’ve got someone like Chase Griffin, who’s been here for so long, he’s an unbelievable person,” Gunderson said. “He kind of is a really uniting force. He’s awesome to have in the room.

Here is Gunderson’s full media session courtesy of Bruin Blitz contributor Kelly Horyczun:

Below for subscribers are the full notes and observations from the day, as well as clips from practice.

-Garbers continues to line up with the unofficial first team, with receivers J.Michael Sturdivant and Kyle Ford split up to even out the units. The tight end reps continue to be split between last year’s backup Hudson Habermehl and Oregon transfer Moliki Matavao.

-With the number of available players still down and unchanged along the offensive line, Josh Carlin is among those taking on both first and second unit repetitions.

-In early 7-on-7 drills, Garbers had the best throw on a 50-yard connection that hit Ford in stride.

Later, Moore dropped a 25-yard pass to Kam Brown in a circle of defenders.

Martin was unable to complete a 40-yard throw to Braden Pegan, overthrowing the open receiver in the end zone.

Schlee started his first 7-on-7 series with completions to Brown and TJ Harden. After throwing the ball away, Schlee was chided by head coach Chip Kelly for a checkdown completion to running back Carson Steele in a third-and-7 situation. As Kelly spoke with Schlee, he pointed downfield as if to say he missed a receiver on the opposite side of the field and reminded him it was a third down.

Moore returned to throw three consecutive incompletions, with a drop by an unidentified receiver.

Garbers went 5 of 6 on his next series, capping it with a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Grant Norberg.

Schlee completed three of his next six but was unable to finish off the drive in the redzone. He missed Ford on a high throw to the back of the end zone, was unable to hit Brown on a fade and his next throw to Brown was knocked away by cornerback Jaylin Davies.

-In 11-on-11 situational work in the redzone, the defense came with constant pressure.

Edge rusher Laiatu Latu and linebackers Adam Cohen and Darius Muasau all forced throwaways, while Carl Jones Jr. and Oluwafemi Oladejo combined on another.

The lone redzone touchdowns in the period were on Garbers’ quick-hitter to Pegan that he ran in from 10 yards out and Martin’s 7-yard strike to Josiah Norwood.

-In the last live period of practice, the quarterbacks were tasked with picking up a first down while facing a second-and-11 situation, and things got chippy between Davies and a pair of players.

Garbers opened the period with an 8-yard completion to Harden, who was greeted at the sideline by Davies and the two briefly traded shoves and exchanged words. The drive stalled on defensive back Alex Johnson’s coverage against Brown to force an incompletion.

Schlee’s first series started with a Carson Steele handoff for no gain, but the quarterback showed off his legs for a 15-yard scramble to complete the drill.

Moore’s first shot ended with a pass broken up by cornerback John Humphrey against Ford.

Garbers came back to complete a pair of passes, a 9-yarder to Bradley Schlom and a first down to Elijah Rodriguez.

Martin’s only series started with an incompletion under heavy pressure, but he adjusted on edge rusher Jake Heimlicher’s following rush to complete a first down to freshman Jeremiah McClure.

Moore had a similar fate, with Muasau and edge rusher Gabriel Murphy sacking him before finding Ford on the next snap. That’s when Davies and Ford got into it and things escalated to the point several players had to separate them.

There did not appear to be any punches thrown and that’s how the live period ended.