Although the first quarterback selected in the 1947 NFL draft, Case signed instead with the upstart Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), playing just one uneventful season in a reserve role before retiring.

[3] As spring practice for the 1941 season approached, the sophomore Case appeared to be in line to take on the role of starting quarterback for the UCLA squad coached by Edwin C. "Babe" Horrell.

Motivated by the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, on January 10, 1942, Case informed Coach Horrell that he was leaving school to enlist in the Army Air Corps in support of the nation's war effort.

[11] On September 23, 1943, with POWs being moved from Italy to more secure sites in Germany, Case and a comrade took advantage of the diversion provided by an Allied bombing of his locale,[11] escaping through a hole in his stockade fence.

[10] The pair made their way towards invading Allied forces, subsisting on whatever they could find to eat, including bread and water provided by friendly Italians, eventually meeting up with a patrol of the Canadian 8th Army on October 26 at the municipality of Trivento.

Although slightly undersized and wiry, standing 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighing just 170 pounds (77 kg),[13] Case nevertheless won the starting quarterback role and was elected team captain in 1945.

[14] Case saw extensive action for UCLA as its starting quarterback in both 1945 and 1946, his junior and senior seasons, sharing team captaincy duties in the latter year with end Burr Baldwin.

[15] As an older-than-average student with a recent history as a war hero who returned to college to play football, Case was something of a novelty and received periodic nationwide attention in the press.

Case and UCLA briefly took an early 7–6 lead with a quarterback sneak, but the day belonged to the Illini, who racked up a Rose Bowl record 320 yards of offense, blowing out the Bruins, 45–14.

[23] Case chose instead to sign with the Baltimore Colts of the rival All-America Football Conference, however, joining former UCLA teammate Burr Baldwin, an All-American, in the upstart professional league.