Garner went to college at the University of California, Berkeley, and played for the Golden Bears as an 18-year-old freshman in 1982. On November 20, Cal faced their Bay Area rival, Stanford, in their annual Big Game. The Bears trailed 20–19 after a field goal by the Cardinal with four seconds remaining. On the ensuing kickoff return, known as The Play, Garner made the third of five Cal laterals to score a touchdown for a 25–20 win. His lateral to Richard Rodgers, as well as the final lateral of The Play, have been heavily scrutinized over whether they were legal; Garner made his pass while being tackled by several Stanford players, who maintain that Garner's knee touched the ground before he passed the ball, thereby ending the play at that point.[3][4] The official closest to Garner at that moment, head linesman Jack Langley, later ruled that Garner's forward progress had not been halted.[3] After the game, Garner maintained, "I was not down."[3]
Garner finished his four-year career at Berkeley with 1,048 yards rushing and 120 receptions for 1,027 yards. He also had 51 kickoff returns for 958 yards, and returned 35 punts for 274 yards and a touchdown. He scored 10 touchdowns overall.[2]
Garner joined the Washington Redskins in 1986 as a rookie free agent,[5] and filled in as a kick returner during the season.[6] In two regular season games, he returned seven kickoffs for 142 yards. He also played in three playoff games, returning five kicks for 98 yards.[2] During the preseason in 1987, he was placed on injured reserve with a bruised foot.[7]
