During a four day stretch earlier this month, three-star prospect Chase Garbers visited Washington, Washington State, Boise State, Colorado and Colorado State. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback from Newport Beach (Calif.) Corona Del Mar plans to check out six more schools before making a commitment.
“I am visiting Cal this Saturday and then I plan on visiting Boston College, Duke, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Tennessee in May,” said Garbers. “I want to make a summer time decision, either late June or sometime in July.
“As a quarterback, you want to get off the board early, which is a little bit stressful. The dominoes start to fall but I didn't want to rush into anything. I want to make sure the school I chose is the right fit for me.”
Although Colorado has not yet extended an offer to Garbers, he has drawn strong interest from the Buffaloes. In fact, Colorado co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren will be by Corona Del Mar to watch Garbers throw this week.
“All these schools tell you about how they take care of their athletes and how they put academics first, but I liked how [Buffs head] coach [Mike] MacIntyre also talked to me about post-football life and really broke it down for me. That intrigued me and my family for sure” Garbers said.
“Colorado's campus is very beautiful," he added. "I like what Coach Lindgren and Coach MacIntyre are doing there. A lot of kids from my high school actually go to the University of Colorado so I would know a bunch of people if I decided to go there. I believe I could go in there and have an opportunity to play early on, which is good, that is a big factor for me. It is just a great school in general, I liked it a lot.”
Garbers talked about the other four colleges he visited earlier this month:
Washington: “The coaching staff definitely stood out. I enjoyed being able to see how they practice and operate with [head] coach [Chris] Petersen. I like the location with it being in Seattle. I have family right outside Seattle, which is a plus. That school is definitely on my radar."
Washington State: "They have offered me and it is a different school. It is located in a small college town where you are the big shot. There is nothing around you for miles so you get a little country, hometown feel. They definitely showed me a great time. I met with everybody, and even met a U.S. Senator while I was there, so that was pretty cool."
Boise State: "They made a great impression on my mom and brother, they liked it a lot. Their coaches are great and they are known for winning. They win their games, which is obviously a good thing."
Colorado State: “My family likes it because [head] coach [Mike] Bobo is a Georgia guy and my dad is from Georgia so he has a lot of southern roots down there. Fort Collins is a great town and they are doing some really good things at Colorado State. Their offense is definitely a little NFL style, which is good. It prepares you for the next level."
As a sophomore and junior, Garbers helped lead Corona Del Mar to 19 total wins and back-to-back Pacific Coast League titles.
“These schools like my decision making ability because in my two years as a varsity starter, I have only thrown five interceptions. I have about a 70 percent completion percentage, which intrigues them a lot because it shows I take care of the ball and I know what I am doing,” he said. “They like that I take control of my offense in high school. It is an audible based, very up-tempo spread offense, which a lot of schools are running nowadays.”
