Sports
How a surprising corps of receivers helped UCLA's Ethan Garbers thrive
This doesn’t match the job description.
UCLA’s running backs have done most of their running after making catches.
T.J. Harden and Keegan Jones have both logged more receiving yards than rushing yards. Their touchdown total through the air has equaled theirs on the ground. Their longest receiving play of the season has gone for more than twice the yardage of their longest rushing play.
That’s just life for a Bruins running back in 2024, though they don’t seem to mind, almost considering it a perk of their responsibilities.
“It’s fun catching the ball out of the backfield,” said running back Jalen Berger, whose biggest play last weekend during the Bruins’ 35-32 victory over Rutgers came on a nine-yard touchdown catch, on Tuesday. “I feel like all three of us are versatile running backs and we just want to help out any way we can.”
They’ve done plenty just by blocking and serving as checkdown options for quarterback Ethan Garbers. Harden made a block that helped free Garbers for his 49-yard touchdown run — by far the team’s longest carry of the day — and the running backs combined to make three of the team’s four touchdown catches after the Scarlet Knights curiously refused to cover them out of the backfield.
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers outruns a defender for a 49-yard touchdown against Rutgers.
(Ed Mulholland / Getty Images)
“We got the iPads on the sideline so [Garbers] could see that,” Berger said. “So every time we ran out the backfield, they never covered us so we were just wide open for touchdowns.”
Garbers was the biggest beneficiary, compiling career highs in completion percentage (84%), passing yards (383) and touchdown passes (four) on the way to being named the Big Ten offensive player of the week.
Relying on the running backs for checkdowns was a winning formula for the quarterback who entered the game with more than twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes this season, largely as a result of trying to force too many passes into coverage.
“You finally saw it where Ethan wasn’t pressing, he was kind of letting the game come to him,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said. “You know, I felt like there was a few games he wanted to get out there and make plays, just being the captain that he is and being a senior, you want to come out there and play hard and make plays, so I think he finally let the game come to him and you see what he did.”
Garbers could thank an offensive line that largely held up and a corps of running backs who continue to be some of his best options. Harden is the team’s second-leading receiver with 26 catches for 238 yards and Jones ranks fifth with 12 catches for 179 yards. Berger has six catches for 35 yards.
Berger’s 127 rushing yards make him the only member of the trio to compile more yards on the ground than through the air. Harden has run for 180 yards at 2.9 yards per carry, and Jones has run for 105 yards and at 5.3 yards per carry. Those numbers are reflected in a UCLA run game that’s averaged just 64.6 yards per game, ranking last in the country.
“They’re not exactly getting the yardage they would like running the ball,” Foster said of his running backs, “but they’re still able to affect the game.”
Bad finish
Rutgers received a major assist in its comeback efforts from UCLA’s secondary.
On three consecutive plays late in the game, Bruins defensive backs committed penalties. It started with safety Ramon Henderson tackling a player out of bounds before cornerback Jaylin Davies committed pass interference on back-to-back plays that Foster described as “a little too handsy.”
“They’re probably going to call plays like that in the red zone,” Foster said of the pass interference penalties, “so probably try to keep your hands off them.”
Rutgers went on to score a touchdown with 1 minute 23 seconds left and would have had a chance to win the game had it recovered an onside kick snagged by UCLA’s Grant Gray.
Foster said closing out games and coming out of halftime with a flourish were among the things his team would work on during the bye week. The Bruins have been outscored, 50-23, in third quarters this season.
Bravery time
Foster said he went for it on fourth and one at UCLA’s 18-yard line in the second quarter against the Scarlet Knights because “I just felt we can get a yard.”
So why didn’t he go for it on fourth and one at the Bruins’ 12-yard line a week earlier against Minnesota when getting a yard could have sealed a victory?
“Where I was at and how we were playing,” Foster said, referring to his offense’s struggles against the Golden Gophers, “so I didn’t think that we had the … [momentum] to get the yardage at the time. You know, early in the game and being aggressive, that was just something that I wanted to do, especially being on the road.”
Etc.
Foster said he hoped the bye week could help his team get back several players who have been sidelined by injuries. But the Bruins were without defensive tackle Siale Taupaki for at least the start of practice Tuesday after he left the Rutgers game with an unspecified injury. Wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. and left tackle Reuben Unije also did not participate in the portion of practice open to reporters. … The Bruins’ game against Nebraska on Nov. 2 in Lincoln will start at 12:30 p.m. PDT and air on the Big Ten Network.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounded off on the frenzied reactions to the U.S. men’s hockey team getting invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.
Trump talked to the Olympic gold medal-winning team immediately after they defeated Canada in overtime last weekend. He said they would be invited to his State of the Union address and added that he needed to invite the women’s team as well or he would be “impeached.”
Charles Barkley sits courtside against the Minnesota Timberwolves during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
Trump critics took the joke as a shot at the women’s team, which sparked questions from NHL and Professional Women’s Hockey League reporters as the players returned to their respective club teams.
“I’m proud of the United States men. I’m proud of the United States women. You should have invited both of them to the White House, but it shouldn’t have been disrespect, misogyny,” Barkley said on the “Steam Room” podcast. “Like, yo, man, why do y’all have to mess everything up? Everything isn’t Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it man. Because, you know, the public, they’re idiots. They’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools.”
Barkley lamented that the average person would get riled up over the supposed controversy.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
“We don’t have to fall for stupidity. But we do – that’s my point. These people out here are stupid. They need something to trigger them. Just because they want us to be stupid. We don’t have to be stupid. He should have invited both teams to the White House. Simple as that. Guys who didn’t want to go shouldn’t have to explain why they didn’t go.”
The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star made clear he would go to the White House regardless of whether Trump was in office.
“I’ve said this before, I’m not a Trump guy. But if I got invited to the White House, I would go. I’m not a Trump guy – I want to make that clear. But I respect the office,” Barkley said. “He’s the president of the United States. But if guys don’t want to go, I understand that too. It doesn’t have to be a talking point. It doesn’t have to be un-American.
Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada on Day 13 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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“I just wish y’all would stop falling for the stupidity.”
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Three years ago, as a 14-year-old freshman, Slava Shahbazyan made it to Bakersfield for the state wrestling championships.
“It was good to get experience that young,” he said.
Then came Saturday night when he had a breakthrough moment, winning the state 165-pound championship as a 17-year-old senior for Birmingham High.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “It took four years.”
Shahbazyan, who transferred from Chaminade after his sophomore year, is set to attend Stanford and still in the hunt to be valedictorian at Birmingham. Coach Jimmy Medeiros said he was close to winning last season before finishing fourth.
“He got a lot better,” Medeiros said.
Shahbazyan has been wrestling since he was 8. “My father loves wrestling,” he said.
Two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at 144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds, also won state titles.
Here’s the link to complete results.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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