BYU Football may have found their starting quarterback next season in USF transfer Gerry Bohanon. Bohanon released the following post on his personal Instagram and it didn’t take long for it to start to make its rounds on X.
Per Gerry Bohanon’s IG pic.twitter.com/U8ubsIF9i6
— Jason Shepherd (@jsnshep) January 4, 2024
The announcement has been met with a mixed reaction among BYU fans.
Gerry Bohanon is a Big 12 Champion and Played in the Sugar Bowl
Whether you want to call it a defensive masterclass, or relying heavily on the run game, the bottom line is Gerry Bohanon led the Baylor Bears to the 2021 Big 12 Championship and a birth into the Sugar Bowl where they faced Georgia.
During that historic Baylor season, Bohanon led the Bears to a 10-2 regular season in which he passed for 2,160 yards and rushed for 330 yards. While those numbers don’t look phenomenal, a 10-2 season is a 10-2 season and that is something BYU Football would have dreamed about.
However, not everything around this transfer is perfect.
Injury History
Like so many other players, Gerry Bohanon’s career has been in many ways highlighted by injury. Halfway through the 2022 season, Bohanon suffered a serious shoulder injury that kept him sidelined the rest of the season as well as the entire 2023 season. Already a redshirt senior, Bohanon applied for, and got cleared for a medial redshirt. Throw that on top of the free Covid year, and Bohanon will be one of the most locker room experienced players in the country.
It is unclear whether Bohanon is back to 100% from the injury in terms of real game action.
BYU Fans Optimistic, but Weary
Last season, BYU Football went into the transfer portal and picked up Kedon Slovis from Pitt/USC. Slovis was a one-year player that many fans saw as a bridge between the Independent era and the Big 12. Slovis had struggled at Pitt, but he brought P5 experience and at one time was a star at USC.
Ultimately Slovis ended up struggling for the Cougars and injuries ended up sidelining him for the remainder of the season. It is unclear whether he would have played in the final game of the season if healthy.
Some fans are seeing Bohanon as a Slovis-like player, and in many ways, they have a point. He is a player with P5 experience, won at the highest level, transferred and struggled at his last school, and is now a grad transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.
Other fans see Bohanon’s experience as a way to boost the QB room and create more competition. If you want to see how passionate both sides of the argument are, check out the responses to the following tweet.
Transfer QB Gerry Bohanon commits to BYU!
What are your initial thoughts?
Listen: 960 AM
Stream: https://t.co/UsO9bkSy7h / ESPN 960 APP / Tune In APP /#ESPN960Sports #BYUFootball #BYUBasketball #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/EJUsnrppuH— Benjamin Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) January 4, 2024
Crowded QB Room for BYU Football Just Got More Crowded
BYU Football doesn’t have a clear cut starter. Jake Retzlaff showed flashes at the end of last season, but ultimately went 0-4 in games. Cade Fennegan is a backup that has limited experience at Boise State, but will unlikely ever push to be the starter. The Cougars also have two young players, Ryder Burton and Noah Lugo. Both players were recruited very hard by the BYU coaching staff and were seen as big wins.
With the addition of Bohanon, one is left to wonder if and how many quarterbacks will transfer this spring when the transfer portal opens up again. BYU Football is known for great QB play, but in today’s era of the transfer portal, there may actually be such thing as too much talent.
Another fear is that after bringing in two one-year transfers that younger players will feel that their ability to get reps and develop in the BYU Football offense will be difficult.
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