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. 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. and filled in as a kick returner during the season. 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. ==Later years==