UCLA starting QB 2024: Who will start for DeShaun Foster's team in Week 11?

The UCLA Bruins are 3-5 in the 2024 college football season. They started the season on a positive note, but a five-game losing streak derailed their year.

They now enter Week 11 knowing that there must be no slipups if they're to secure bowl eligibility at the end of the season. Ahead of their Week 11 game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, let's take a look at the potential starting quarterback and QB depth chart for the game.

UCLA's starting QB against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Week 11

Ethan Garbers will start for the Bruins against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Week 11 of the 2024 college football season. Garbers has started seven out of the eight games that the Bruins have played this season. He doesn't have any significant injury issues entering Week 11, so barring any unfortunate scenarios, he'll be starting at center for the Bruins today.

Garbers is currently in his senior year at UCLA, and he has only ever played for them at the collegiate level. The Corona del Mar product started his collegiate career with the Washington Huskies but never played a single snap for the program before joining the Bruins via the transfer portal.

He became the Bruins' starting quarterback in 2022 and has thrived in the role ever since. He'll be looking to inspire them on a late-season resurgence and improve this draft stock in the process.

After throwing an interception in each of his first five games of the season, Garbers did not throw a pick in his last two games. He had a great game against Rutgers, completing 32 of 38 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns. And last weekend, he completed 68% of his passes for 219 yards against Nebraska. Both games resulted in UCLA road wins.

UCLA Bruins' QB depth chart

According to the College Football Network, the UCLA Bruins have just two quarterbacks on their active depth chart: Ethan Garbers and Justyn Martin. Garbers is the incumbent starter, while Martin is the priority backup.

Martin is currently in his sophomore season with the Bruins. He was recruited out of Inglewood High School. Martin was highly regarded in California and had his fair share of scholarship offers. However, he decided to commit to UCLA to play collegiate football in 2021.

Despite his clear talents, Martin did not play in a single game for the Bruins as a freshman. Hence, he redshirted in year one in order to preserve his collegiate eligibility.

Martin did play in two games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. However, he was firmly planted behind Garbers and other shot callers on the depth chart. He did start his first game for the Bruins in a matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions due to an injury sustained by Garbers.

Martin had a decent showing in the game, amassing a stat line of 167 passing yards and one touchdown. He returned to the bench a week later as Garbers had recovered sufficiently from the injury. It remains to be seen whether Martin is given another chance to show off his accuracy as the regular season gradually winds down.