BYU went looking for another veteran quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason and found an unconventional option.
Former Baylor and South Florida quarterback Gerry Bohanon will come to Provo for his seventh season in college football, he announced Thursday.
He did not play at all in 2023. He was beat out for the starter role by redshirt freshman Byrum Brown, who led the Bulls to their first bowl game in five years.
Bohanon started his career as a four-star player out of Arkansas. He committed to Baylor and waited three years to start. Head coach Dave Aranda gave him the job in 2021, where he guided the Bears to 12 wins and a Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss.
He threw for 2,200 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But Baylor was a more run-heavy offense in 2021. It averaged 40 carries a game, compared to 26 pass attempts.
By April of that offseason, Baylor moved on from Bohanon and tapped Blake Shapen to start in spring camp. Bohanon entered the transfer portal and went to USF.
With the Bulls, Bohanon started the first half of the season. He threw for 1,070 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. He played against BYU in the season opener, throwing for 172 yards and an interception.
He hurt his shoulder after seven games and missed the rest of 2022. With a new coaching staff last year, Bohanon lost the starting job again and entered the transfer portal.
This will be his final year of eligibility.
There were other veteran quarterbacks in the portal this offseason for BYU. Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke entered the portal after five seasons and BYU offered him.
But his 7,651 yards of experience went to Indiana. There were also some younger options, like Hawaii’s Brayden Schager and Michigan State’s Sam Leavitt, that were on the market.
The notable part about Bohanon is despite playing six years of college football, he was only a full-time starter for 19 games and played one complete season as a starter.
This will be different than Kedon Slovis, who was a five-year veteran who started as a freshman at USC. Slovis played in 38 games as the starter before coming to BYU.
BYU will return quarterback Jake Retzlaff next year. He made four starts and did not win a game. But he showed flashes of being a Big 12 starter.
He made key mistakes, including a pick-six against Oklahoma on the goal line that cost BYU the game. But the offense moved the ball as he threw for 648 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Toward the end of the year, Retzlaff’s mobility helped the offense overcome its protection issues on the offensive line.
Bohanon is mobile. He ran for over 1,000 yards in his career. In his full season starting, he rushed for nine touchdowns and 323 yards.
