Gerry Bohanon, the quarterback, originally believed he would never play again. He is now the risk that BYU should take.
Bohanon is vying to be the starting quarterback for BYU; this contest will determine the course of a crucial second season in the Big 12.
Provo — When BYU’s top decision-makers came to assess their future in December of last year, the Florida football field was virtually empty.
Alongside a handful of receivers was Gerry Bohanon, the former top prospect who was turned into a significant project. Twelve days prior, Bohanon would have sat awake at night, certain he would never play again. He was unable to toss a football more than a few dozen times a day without experiencing crippling shoulder pain.
And now, here he was, farther than he had ever imagined from the once-dazzling Sugar Bowl spotlight, attempting to save his career with an unscheduled trial.
Matt Mitchell, the top offensive analyst for BYU, had contacted to inquire about his interest in competing for the Cougars quarterback position. A jolt was in order following a 5-7 season. To see Bohanon throw, Mitchell and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick might be traveling by plane.
Bohanon pushed himself to get well. During the practice, he ran through every play he used to make as Baylor’s primary quarterback and worked up to 60 throws every day, even if it hurt.
Staff members from BYU had seen enough at the Florida field to place a wager on the former Big 12 standout when they left.
Bohanon’s competition with current starter Jake Retzlaff was approved by Roderick. His leader heading into a crucial second year in the Big 12 would be one of the two.
Bohanon now gets his chance. The quarterback who defeated Ole Miss in a New Year’s Six bowl game, fell from favor and transferred to USF, tore his labrum, and was forced to retire from the game, is back. And perhaps now more than ever, BYU needs him.
“What I desired was a chance,” stated Bohanon. “I was denied access to the game for a full year. To myself, I have a lot to prove.
Back then, Bohanon was the one observing from the sidelines in 2023, and he didn’t really understand why.
Over the course of his career, Bohanon was considered a highly promising potential.
He was an Elite 11 finalist in 2017, having come out of Earle, Arkansas. The Elite 11 is a grouping of the nation’s top young signal callers. He was standing next to future NFL players Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. Bohanon could smash a ball sixty yards and not blink back then.
But he found it difficult to hold a tennis ball last year in South Florida.
It resulted from a torn labrum he sustained during the 2022 season’s seventh week. His shoulder gave out as he was going for an extra yard versus Tulane. The Bulls had a horrible season, going 1-11 and firing their whole coaching staff. It was a dreadful way to close the season.
November was Bohanon’s operation month. Months later, his career was placed on life support.
He declared, “I didn’t throw a ball for six months.”
His days resembled someone struggling to walk again until autumn camp arrived. He was unable to toss a tennis ball more than ten yards on his first day back.
About the ball’s flight, he remarked, “It was dying.” “I am not capable of doing it.”
His strategy, as prescribed by the doctors, was to start with a tennis ball and work his way up to a weighted one. On certain days, he was instructed to throw into the surface at top speed while standing just feet in front of a wall. Without attempting to propel the ball down field, it increased his strength.
He remarked, “I didn’t think I had enough.” “I became tired and sore. You attempt to raise those [throwing] figures, and then you say, “I’m not feeling well.” Is this anything I can do?
Not even in his darkest hours before, had Bohanon wondered if he had the physical means. Almost immediately after arriving at Baylor as a four-star recruit, he was put to work as a runner. As a sophomore, he played in ten games and scored five touchdowns in the Bears’ 11-win record. He was given the reins by head coach Dave Aranda by his fourth year, and he earned a Big 12 championship.
It hurt when Aranda approached him a year later and announced that rookie quarterback Blake Shapen would be starting. It wasn’t, however, for lack of ability. USF devoured him and was primed for victory.
But all of it seemed to end following his injury.
You don’t really see it at the time. “You’re wondering why this feels the way it does,” he remarked. “All I wanted was to feel normal again after all this time.”
Why would BYU assume the chance?
Roderick did not enter the most recent transfer window with the intention of drafting a quarterback.
This time, Roderick merely looked through a few names in the gateway before finding former starter Kedon Slovis, unlike in 2022 when he looked through at least 25 names.
“Not that many,” replied Roderick. “We’ll take it into consideration if the right guy shows up and fits in with our program.”
Bohanon’s health was at stake, but that makes more sense in the bigger picture.
In 2023, BYU’s offense was not Big 12 ready. The quarterback play was generally below par, and the running game was dreadful. Slovis had trouble moving the ball before he was injured. Retzlaff, who entered for the final four games, had moments of brilliance but was prone to turnovers. He threw a 99-yard pick-six against Oklahoma, costing BYU a game that could have changed the program and a postseason opportunity.
And Bohanon fulfilled a lot of requirements. He had attended to the ball. He was a Big 12 veteran. His offensive scheme at Baylor was similar. Roderick and Jeff Grimes, the offensive coordinator for the Bears, were coworkers at BYU.
Roderick had remarked in the spring that it was similar. “However, the lexicon is entirely distinct.”
Head coach Kalani Sitake also thought the culture match was good. After his absence, he observed a player with a “different perspective.” When he departed Baylor two years prior, BYU recruited a quarterback, but this one was more experienced.
It would not have been possible for him to make that throw with his arm strength five months ago, or even a few weeks earlier. It is beginning to reappear now.
It remains to be seen if he will be able to showcase it in a game the following year.
In February, Sitake stated, “He understood nothing was going to be handed to him.” This was going to require fighting. You must take the position. I have no idea who will start at quarterback for us. Right now, I have no idea who that will be.