Tag Archives: san antonio brahmas

NFL, ufl

Garbers, Chase

CARDS: Sage Artistry 2022, Panini Contenders 2022
ACQUIRED: Ebay, 2025

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Chase Garbers played QB at Cal from 2018-’21.
  • In his Senior season, Chase completed 223 of 348 attempts for 2,531 yards, and 16 TDs, while rushing for 456 yards and 4 TDs on 104 carries.
  • All these numbers would represent career highs with the Golden Bears for him, as 2021 would be the first year he’d start all 11 contests.
  • Signed as an UDFA by the Las Vegas Raiders after the 2022 NFL Draft.
  • Spent 2022 and 2023 on and off the Raiders active and practice squad.
  • Released after training camp in 2023.
  • Signed with the UFL San Antonio Brahmas in January of 2024.
  • Beat out Quinten Dormady in camp to win the starting nod for SA.
  • Had his best game in week 2 against the Memphis Showboats, throwing for 287 yards and 3 TDs, completing 29 of 40 throws.
  • Injured during Week 3 and spent the next 5 weeks on IR.
  • Returned in Week 9 as the Brahmas stunned the previously unbeaten Birmingham Stallions 18-9.
  • Guided the team to a playoff win in St. Louis, completing 15 of 21 passes for 197 yards and 2 TDs.
  • Lost to the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL Championship Game.
  • In the offseason, the Brahmas decided to go in another direction at QB, releasing Garbers in early 2025.


STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:

GARBERSVSDORMADY
140/96ATT/ CPD170/93
68.6PCT59.5
767YDS1,206
5.5YPA7.0
4.3TD%3.5
1.4INT%3.5
41LG52t
5SACK12
90.4RAT77.9

The Brahmas had two QBs with firmly different strengths and weaknesses. Due to Chase Garbers wrist injury during Week 3, we got to see them both extensively throughout the season.

Chase’s biggest assets were that he made pretty good pre-snap reads and rarely turned the ball over.  A lot of chatter was made about his ability to scramble from the pocket and make plays. He rarely did that this season, but when he did buy time when in the pocket… he really displayed a nice touch throwing the short pass on the move. Garbers averaged a puny 5 yards per completion and teams recognized this early on. They’d crowd the LOS as he failed consistently to push the ball further down the field, taking the easy checkdown or a screen to an RB. His 41 yard long was a dink 10 yards to Speedy Stevenson against Memphis who galloped the rest of the way. This would be his modus operandi as the season wore on. Get it to his playmakers on a quick pass and then let the receiver do the rest.

Dormady on the other hand was completely the opposite. He’s a gunslinger, and pushes the ball down the field for the big play… or the turnover. Explosive plays are where Dormady really beats Garbers hands down. Quinten is also fearless about utilizing his targets over the middle 10-15 yards down field. He holds onto the ball a bit longer and seems mostly comfortable in the pocket- which brings along its own set of disadvantages. His biggest drawbacks arose from pre-snap reads. – This was most evident in the Houston game when he went ice cold and had to be pulled due to turnovers and ineffectiveness. 

NOTES:

So yeah let’s talk about that Championship Game…

I don’t know what happened there, but it was a bad look for the league. On 3rd and short early on, Garbers looked to be running for a first down, and instead heard footsteps, slid obviously and intentionally short of the first down. Later he did something very similar again, all the while checking down, and throwing screens. Chase then would go to the sidelines and as the camera focused on him, he just didn’t seem focused on the game. It got so bad that Anthony McFarland got angry at him, and had to be separated from Garbers. 

It was rumored that Garbers had gotten ‘the call’ that he’d be signed after the Championship game concluded. Whether or not it was true, he was not signed after the game. He finished with 116 yards on 18 of 26 throws and a paltry 4.5 YPA as the team lost 25-0.

In August of 2024, at the team offseason appearance at Seaworld, celebrating the title and with special appearances by Caeveon Patton, GM Marc Lillibridge and Wade, I came armed with questions. (Personally I was in the camp that Garbers ‘mailed in’ the 2024 Championship game appearance.) Marc sensed this and defended Garbers by confirming that not only Garbers and Dormady had different playstyles, but that they also handled mistakes differently with Garbers being more… ‘California Low Key’. So Marc could certainly see how Garbers had this perception of mailing it in. He then told me to stay tuned as they had some big plans at the quarterback position.

In October, Dormady would be traded to Memphis for Jordan Ferguson and the team would announce the signing of former Viking and Texas A&M alum Kellen Mond at QB- essentially signaling the end of the Garbers epoch.

Originally I had ordered a Sage Next Level autographed card of Garbers from COMC but it got lost in the mail, and after waiting a month, I asked for my money back. I settled for this Artistry card since the remaining Next Level autographs were out of my price range. I used to really like Sage Artistry when it was a subset in its Draft sets, but this set now feels like a total copout. It’s just a Photoshop filter on top of a photo.

ufl, XFL

Lovett, John

CARDS: Sage 2022, TNT XFL23, Upper Deck Game Dated Moments 2024, Upper Deck UFL 2024, Upper Deck UFL 2024 Parallel, Upper Deck UFL 2024 Exclusive, Upper Deck UFL 2025
ACQUIRED: IP 2024, San Antonio Brahmas v Birmingham Stallions
IP 2025, San Antonio Brahmas v Arlington Renegades
2025, Ebay

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • John Lovett played from 2017-20 at RB at Baylor amassing 1,980 yards and 17 TDs on 407 carries.
  • With a surprising combination of speed and power, he had a 74 yard TD and a 75 yard TD to his resume before transferring to Penn State in 2021.
  • Undrafted, he spent the 2022 season on the roster of the Carolina Panthers primarily on the practice squad.
  • Hopped over to the XFL23 playing for the Vegas Vipers.
  • Seeing action in all 10 games with 2 starts, Lovett ran 59 times for 227 yards and 3 TDs.
  • In August of 2023 he spent about two weeks with the Steelers.
  • With Vegas being euthanized after the 2023 season, Lovett was not selected in the UFL dispersal draft- so he signed with the San Antonio Brahmas.
  • Played in 8 contests, starting 4, rushing 103 times for 421 yards and 5 TDs.
  • Set the league single game rushing record with 155 yards against the DC Defenders.
  • He returned to the Brahmas for 2025, but early in the first game he pulled his hamstring.
  • John attempted to play through it but it merely made things worse.
  • He finished the 2025 season with 18 carries for 32 yards and a TD, used mainly in short yardage situations.

NOTES:

I knew John had played for the Vegas Vipers in 2023, so I made a card for him that was ready just in time for their home finale against the Birmingham Stallions. He was super kind to always come to my side of the field to sign and talk to fans. I know it was out of the way but it meant a lot to me- and that quality endeared him to me. He liked the Vegas card and thanked me for the extras I gave him.

With his 2025 pretty much washed he was elevated off of IR for the final game so I prepped and packed all his cards. My friend Jake had been kind enough to trade me his GDM card, and I also picked up a Sage 2022 of him I didn’t know was in the wild.

When I saw him going back and forth from the tunnel, I said, “Hey John Lovett!”, With a big smile. He pointed enthusiastically.

I looped around the outside to his area and called him over. He came over and signed all the remaining cards I had. John hadn’t seen his UFL 25 card so I gave him the extra ‘white’ I had for his personal collection in exchange for his autograph on everything else. He told me he remembered me from last year and thanked me for the extra card, and was kind enough to explain what happened with his hammy.

I think he had family in my general area and so he came down to talk to them after the game. He threw his jersey to them and shook hands and hugged friends. I’m not sure- but it felt like a good bye?

CFL, NFL, XFL

Coan, Jack

ACQUIRED: IP 2023, San Antonio Brahmas Kickoff Party
FAILURE: TTM 2024, C/o Home

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • Jack Coan played QB from 2017-’20 at Wisconsin, and 2021 at Notre Dame.
  • While at Wisconsin he had a solid Junior campaign tossing for 2,727 yards and 18 TDs (5 INT) for the Badgers.
  • With a medical redshirt in play for his Senior campaign (2020) he transferred to Notre Dame for play in ’21.
  • There he set personal highs completing 253 of 386 yards for 3,150 yards and 25 TDs.
  • Jack was undrafted but saw time in camp with the Colts in 2022.
  • He was selected by the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL23.
  • The Brahmas had a bad offensive line, and consequently Coan suffered, completing 158 of 254 passes for 1,471 yards and 6 TDs to 6 picks.
  • After the season he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL and saw limited action under center completing 10 of 21 passes for 100 yards and a TD.

NOTES:

I was annoyed as the Score card I ordered well in advance showed up… two to three days after the meet and greet concluded. It was obvious that Jack had earned the starting gig over Reid Sinnett, as Hines Ward proclaimed at the event that Jack was a team captain. Still they were eager to keep it under wraps. Unable to get a card in time, I printed out these nice photos of Jack and got them signed at the Alamo Brewing event.

Well later after the season ended, I sent out the card and a custom XFL 2023 card to Jack’s home address- but never heard back.

I felt like he got an extremely bad wrap in SA. Their offensive line was very porous in 2023, and Coan didn’t have a safety gap until later in the season when Nick Holley arrived.

I don’t know. It seems oddly fitting that I posted this first Brahmas autograph I got way back in 2023- now in 2025 after the franchise folded. The Brahmas were doomed on the field due to inconsistency at quarterback, and this reflected back on the state of the franchise.