Gerry Bohanon staying positive as BYU backup QB

PROVO, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – When Gerry Bohanon learned he had lost the BYU starting quarterback battle to Jake Retzlaff, he was obviously disappointed. But being the kind of person that he is, Bohanon knew he still had to remain supportive and a leader on the team.

“Life is full of adversity,” Bohanon said ahead of BYU’s game against SMU. “I’ve had a lot of years in my life when it comes football and life. I think things that you go through, the adversity that you go through could beat you up in the future. I don’t know anybody that life is just so easy for him no matter what. Whether you have a lot of money, whether you’re struggling, I just feel like it’s best to just find the happiness, the small moments and those things that you enjoy.”

Voted as one of BYU’s team captains, Bohanon’s supportive behavior didn’t surprised Retzlaff at all.

“That’s just a testament to Gerry, his character, his maturity level,” Retzlaff said. “He’s just an incredible guy on and off the field. I’ve got so much respect for him in all aspects of life. He’s an incredible teammate, an incredible father, an incredible leader. Our relationship has not changed very much at all. We’re still just as supportive of each other as we were all fall camp.”

Bohanon has played in college football’s biggest games, including the Sugar Bowl when he was at Baylor. He transferred from South Florida to be BYU’s starter. So to enter the season as the backup has been tough, but he acknowledged how well Retzlaff played in the season opener against Southern Illinois, when he threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns.

“I thought Jake played really, really well,”Bohanon said. “He was accurate, he was on time, and you could just see the confidence and swagger that he played with. So I thought that was really good to see.”

Bohanon knows he is one play away from becoming the starter, so he’s staying ready.

“Just continue to get better over time to push [Retzlaff],” Bohanon said. “Make sure I’m always ready, make sure he’s getting better every day. We’re both really good players. We competed, and we really didn’t now. So they just went with the best guy, and the next guy has to always be ready. [My] job is to continue to be ready and continue to help the other guy.”

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