If you’ve ever spent time in the Earle High School football offices, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the Gerry Bohanon practice story.

“Oh, this is a great one,” head coach Albert Coleman said, gearing up in anticipation.

It was late in Bohanon’s senior year, as his team was preparing for a final crack at the state title. The young man who had thrown for over 11,000 yards and run for almost 6,000 more — single-handedly putting Earle on the Arkansas map — was studying the No. 1 team in the state.

Bohanon saw a dual-threat quarterback like him, the type that would stress Earle’s defense to the max if it wasn’t ready.

So during the first day of game prep that week, Coleman called out his first-team defense and Bohanon waltzed out onto the field.

“Me and the coaches were like, ‘Hey, we said, first defense,” Coleman recalled, a little surprised. “And he said, ‘I know.’”

Coleman pleaded, “You’re not going to be on the defense. ... And he said, ‘No, sir. I want him. I want this. Let me play.’”

For that entire week of practice, Bohanon gave up his flashier quarterback job to spy the other team’s QB.

“We spent all three days practicing. We could not get a positive play off,” Coleman said. “His ability to self-sacrifice, pour into other people — that was what the team needed.

“I’d bet my house on Gerry Bohanon, if I was a gambling man like that. Just take my retirement, take my annuities, and we’re putting everything on Gerry Bohanon for the win. That’s just how I feel about him.”

Maybe that was all foreshadowing for the future.

Seven years later, Bohanon finds himself at another turning point in his career. He’s always been immensely talented — the top quarterback in the state of Arkansas, a Sugar Bowl champion, a Big 12 title winner at Baylor. But he’s never quite stuck as the long-term starter at any college he’s been to.

He’s now at his third school, living as a backup at BYU. And he is returning to Baylor this week — the place where he once looked like the future of the conference.

To some, it’s a complicated legacy.

But those around Bohanon say he doesn’t need to start to fulfill his legacy. He never really did. Instead, Bohanon will always be remembered more for stories like the practice one.

“You play on a high-division level. You lead a top-five team in the nation. You win a Sugar Bowl. You know, it’s unheard of from Earle, Arkansas,” Coleman said. “I would love to see him play again. And if it happens, guess what? It happens. But God doesn’t make mistakes. And Gerry’s going to have a testimony that he’s going to be able to tell a lot of people when he’s done.”

A long journey

The memory that sits in Shawn Bell’s house isn’t a picture of Bohanon playing football. Instead it’s of a postgame locker room scene that could have been — maybe even should have been — contentious.

During Baylor’s 2021 Big 12 title run, when Bohanon was leading the Bears to a dream season, the quarterback had a hamstring issue flare up before the Texas Tech game.

It forced freshman quarterback Blake Shapen to step in and win a 27-24 nail-biter. It would have been understandable, when Bell walked in after the game, for Bohanon to be soured on the situation.

“Here’s a guy, hamstring out of it, and the kid who replaced him has a great game. And Gerry’s as happy as anybody,” said Bell, who was Baylor’s quarterback coach at the time.

“I got a picture after the game that sits in my house of me, him and Blake after that game. Just reminds me of what a great teammate he is.”

The next week, Shapen started again and won the Big 12 championship MVP trophy. But in the locker room, he handed it to Bohanon.

“It just says so much. You know, a guy that worked so hard in 2021 for that opportunity and it’s slipping away,” Bell said. “And nobody on the outside would’ve known. He’s a tremendously talented quarterback. But as a man, there’s nobody better in this business. With everything he’s been through, nobody’s handled it better.”

And Bohanon has been through a lot.

Coming out of high school, he had all the major offers. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee. His hometown school, Arkansas, drove to Earle just to watch him play a quarter in preseason games so they could build the relationship.

And after each offer, Coleman would pull his star quarterback out of class to let him know. One time Billy Napier, now at Florida but then an Alabama assistant, called him during English class. That’s a big deal in a town of 1,800 people.

“After each [offer], I’d have him take a picture under the college pennant in our high school,” he said.

Bohanon really liked Auburn. He was a Cam Newton fan growing up. But when he visited Waco, he was sold on the vision.

Right away he impressed his teammates.

“He was a way better athlete than I was,” former Baylor quarterback Brandon Bass said. “I remember the first day we are getting our a-- kicked in conditioning. And he was just getting through it.”

But even with all the tools, Bohanon struggled to win the starting job. Baylor had some special packages for Bohanon in 2019 when Charlie Brewer was the starter. In 2020, he was poised to compete for the job, but the Bears had a coaching change and Dave Aranda switched offenses.

Offensive coordinator Larry Fedora liked Bohanon, but not enough to get on the field. The timing never aligned.

“He understood his role and accepted his role,” Fedora said. “But he prepared like a starter. It wasn’t normal. There were times where I walked in there, he was already in there [at 6 a.m.]. Late, too, he would take his dinner and hang out in the in the quarterback meeting room.”

It was his way to contribute.

Finally, in 2021, Bohanon won the job and threw for over 2,000 yards. He started and won the Sugar Bowl. But the next spring, coaches sat him down again and told him Shapen would be the starter.

“I really wanted him to stay,” Bell said. “It was the hardest thing to do. But when you have two talented guys, one is going to leave most likely.”

And Bohanon never really stuck anywhere since. He ventured to South Florida and tore his labrum. He transferred again to BYU and lost the job to Jake Retzlaff.

Now, he’s left waiting for his next role — if one ever comes.

Closing the book

When Coleman tells stories about Bohanon, very few revolve around his big arm or playmaking ability. Most center on how he handled the difficult moments.

He recalls when Bohanon was a freshman, getting peppered in the state title game. They tried to pull him in the fourth quarter, protect his health for the future, but he refused.

“He stood up and just said, ‘Man, y’all quit on me. Don’t ever quit on me,’” he said.

Another time, as a sophomore, he had a hamstring issue and couldn’t run at all. Coleman told him he wasn’t playing, but Bohanon came to the game dressed in pads so the opposing team had to sweat it out.

When the game was tight at half, Bohanon pleaded to go in. Coleman had one condition, stay in the pocket.

First play, Bohanon pulled it and ran for a 70-yard touchdown.

“He comes over to the side. I’m like,’ I told you no running.’ And he’s like, ‘Coach, but it was open.’ So that is the type of kid he is,” he said. “He’s humble and selfless.”

All of it built trust. After his sophomore year, he gave Bohanon a key to the facility. Not even every coach had one. As a freshman, seniors were going up to Coleman and asking if Bohanon could be their leader.

And that, to Coleman, will be his legacy.

Sure, he would love to see Bohanon get a final chance at starting at BYU. But yearning for the spotlight has never been the quarterback’s way. And it’s also what’s going to stick with people long after it’s over.

Just recently, Coleman was texting Bohanon about BYU. When Bohanon committed to the Cougars, he knew Retzlaff was already on the roster. He knew he might not play.

And when he didn’t win the job, he didn’t ask the staff for any special packages to get on the field. He wanted to play his role. Just like he’s always done.

“He texted me and said, ‘You know, whatever happens past this point, coach, I’m happy with where I am in my decision. All I’m going to do is just work,’” Coleman said. “So I know he’s still working. I know if the opportunity still comes up, he’s going to be prepared.”

But whether he plays or not, his legacy is all set in the eyes of those who matter. It’s always been that way.

Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.